Genesis Saga: The Conquest of South Island
by ShadowKitty252
Summary: It started with a letter. Come to South Island. Save us. This is the story of a madman, mystical gems, a hero and the ordinary girl caught in the middle. Join Sonic the Hedgehog and Reiko the Chinchilla as they try to save South Island and discover the reason for the insane Dr Eggman's presence before he roboticizes the island. Book one of the Genesis Saga. Rated T to be safe.
1. Prologue: Genesis

**A/N:** Hey, ShadowClaw98 here. Welcome to the first chapter of my Sonic the Hedgehog series.

This has been attempted twice before. The first time it was pulled due to being crap. The second time...stuff happened in my personal life and I took the fic down due to not being able to do my duty and write it.

Without further ado, let's get started.

...SEGA!

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Sonic the Hedgehog_ is owned by SEGA. I only own OCs and lore of the First Civilization. Please support the official release.

 **Prologue:** Genesis

South Island. A treasure trove of gems and hidden ruins that belonged to a civilization that encompassed every known corner of the world. The most mystical of these gems were the Chaos Emeralds, a set of Emeralds said to have been created by the gods themselves. As such, their powers were infinite, allowing the owner to command life and death and harness their energy for powerful superweapons.

The abilities of the Chaos Emeralds drove a wedge through the middle of the civilization, leading to a huge civil war that obliterated it. The remnants the civilization took it upon themselves to convert the shrines of the Emeralds into containers and them away until their time of need. Four thousand years later the Chaos Emeralds are all but forgotten, regarded as mythical as the gods that created them.

Their presence, however, is shown due to South Island's movements through the ocean. This movement attracted the attention of a certain scientist...

-*G:S1-

Running. Still running. Got to get away. Got to get help.

The girl ducked under a falling tree, charred from the laser of a Buzzbomber mech. Picking up speed, she carried on, moving swiftly through the bushes as she tried to force her legs to move on despite the fight her lungs put up.

She hid behind a tree, allowing the mechs to drive by. Then, once the coast was clear, she crawled out from behind and headed for the coast.

"Reiko!" a menacing voice echoed throughout the forest, followed by a chuckle that only a mad scientist could pull off. "I know you're here, Reiko! Come out and you won't end up like your parents."

Reiko hid in a small cave not making a sound. She waited until the man's hover machine whirred by before rushing to the coast.

Upon reaching it she frantically raided a seaside shack, throwing the drawers and merchandise on the floor.

"C'mon...c'mon..." she hissed in quiet frustration. "Yes!"

She pulled out an empty bottle, pen and paper and began to write.

-*G:S1*-

Sonic wandered around the deck of the boat, breathing in the sea air. It was another warm day at sea and the hedgehog looked forward to where he would land next. Completing his morning two hundred laps round the boat, Sonic headed for the bow to sunbathe for the rest of the journey.

Just as he lay down he noticed something bobbing up and down in the ocean. Squinting, he noticed it was a bottle.

"Captain, can you stop the boat for a second?" he asked.

When the boat stopped Sonic bent down and grabbed the bottle when it came close, noticing the paper folded up inside it.

Chuckling to himself, Sonic uncorked the bottle and pulled out the note, his eyes narrowing slightly at the rushed mess of the writing.

 _I don't care who reads this, just please get some help._

 _I live on South Island, it moves I know but there are coordinates at the bottom. Anyway something terrible has happened, a man named Dr Eggman has taken over the island and has begun to roboticize everyone here! I'm the only free person left..._

 _I don't care who you are but if you can help, or know people who can, please, hurry to the island before it's too late!_

 _Reiko the Chinchilla_

There were tear stains at the edges of the paper and the writing trailed off on occasion. At the bottom were the Island's current coordinates and a badly scrawled drawing of the Eggman Empire logo.

"So...you're up to your old tricks, huh, Eggman?" Sonic said quietly "Captain! Take the boat to these coordinates!"


	2. 1) The Welcome Tour

**A/N:** So, we get down to business with this fic. I should warn you though this fic is more serious than the games and will get darker as the series itself progresses and rated 'T' for a reason. Seriously, _Sonic CD_ is dark anyway, and I'm pretty sure Eggman wasn't all nicey nice during the Death Egg Saga.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non profit fanfiction. _Sonic the Hedgehog_ owned by SEGA. I only own OCs. Please support the official release.

 **Arc:** Green Hill

 **01:** The Welcome Tour

Sonic stepped out onto the beach to find it completely deserted, which was unusual for the time of year. What made this even more suspicious was that there were several deck chairs and parasols scattered around and knocked over.

"This isn't good," Sonic said quietly. "I gotta find that girl."

Sonic tightened his grip on the letter and took off into the forest, dashing through the fallen trees like a bullet. As he journeyed through he found many burnt plants, scorched trees and large holes in the ground.

"Man...Eggman's really gone to town here..."

Suddenly the sounds of lasers filled the air, followed by a girl screaming. Sonic grinned dashed over there as quick as he could, finding a girl in the clearing. She was no more than thirteen, and was being attacked by a trio of indigo wasp-like mechs.

"C'mon then, Badniks! Bring it!" the girl shouted, throwing a rock at the robots.

It hit one with a dull **CLANG** , causing the wasp to fall slightly before buzzing angrily. The girl dodged a laser blast, though it singed her snow white hair a little. The others charged her, trying to inflict damage with their steel heads.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Sonic yelled, jumping on one of the mechs and destroying it.

The wasps turned their attention to the hedgehog and began to fire on him. Sonic dashed round the clearing, avoiding the lasers before jumping up against a tree, using it to propel himself backwards and kick the nearest mech, sending it careening into the other, causing them to explode.

Sonic landed and dusted himself off. "Well that's that."

He walked over to the girl and helped her up. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah, thanks," she replied. "Can you just gimme a sec?"

Sonic nodded. The girl was visibly shaken. Her dark blue eyes looked like they had been hardened by what was happening on South Island, but still had the look of fear that a girl her age would have. Aside from the singed bit, her hair was long and white and, coupled with her large fluffy tail and ears, made her rather cute. Round her neck was a brilliant red pendant. She dusted off her torn jeans and black and purple tank top then smiled at Sonic.

Sonic grinned back. "I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. And you must Reiko?"

The girl gasped and nodded. "Y-you're here to help? Is there anyone else?"

"Unfortunately not," he replied. "Sorry, but there wasn't anywhere to stop and get help where I was."

Reiko looked a tad disheartened but wore a smile to mask it. "Well, one person's better than none, right?" A rustling in the bushes caused her to tense up. "Follow me."

Sonic followed as she took off into the woods. The state of the woods was even worse deeper inside, full of charred trees, craters and abandoned drilling equipment. Eventually Sonic and Reiko came out at a large lake surrounded by rolling checker hills and beautiful flowers.

"We've gotta be careful..." Reiko whispered. "Eggman's mining this place so there are lots of Badniks around here."

"I saw those drills back there, what's he after?" Sonic asked. "If Eggman's tearing up an island, he must really want it."

"Sounds like you know him," Reiko chuckled.

"Eh...just a few destroyed bases I had a hand in, no biggie," Sonic laughed back.

Reiko laughed more before continuing. "Ever heard of the Chaos Emeralds?"

Sonic's eyes narrowed. "They exist?"

"Well...yeah, where have you been living?" Reiko laughed. "Oh wait, you're not a native. Well, the Emeralds are what make this island move through the ocean."

"Huh, I always thought they were a myth," Sonic chuckled. "So you know where they are?"

Reiko's smile faltered. "...No, not really..."

Their conversation was interrupted by several Badniks, including crab and ladybug based ones. Sonic gave a small chuckle and began to spin jump on the mechs, destroying them. The wasps, Buzz Bombers, began to fire on them.

"Not again damn it!" Reiko shouted, jumping and throwing a Buzz Bomber on the grassy ground, breaking it in two before going around karate kicking a few of the Crabmeats in the pincers.

Sonic, who had just rolled through some Motobugs, noticed Reiko's aggressive kicking.

"Nice moves!" he said over the lasers.

"I've had practice" Reiko replied, stomping on a Motobug's head.

Sonic laughed and smashed the last Buzz Bomber. With the Badniks destroyed, the pair took a breather.

"Then let's go find those Chaos Emeralds," Sonic said after a while.

"What?" Reiko asked.

"You look like you know a bit about the island's past," Sonic shrugged. "If we're going to stop Eggman then we'll need a guide, right?"

Reiko nodded. "Let's go then."

-G:S1*-

 **Bestiary:-**

 **Buzz Bomber:** The most common aerial Badnik in Dr Eggman's army, an indigo wasp robot with two small engines attached, allowing it to travel at high speeds, and a laser blaster instead of a stinger. They glide gracefully over their assigned territory, but have to stop to attack. Nevertheless, the **Buzz Bomber** would inspire several other types of Badnik later on.

 **Motobug:** Another common and easily recognized Badnik, as well as the first ever shown in the games. Arguably the weakest Badnik ever created, unless you were caught out by that very first one. **Motobugs** simply roll along the ground and try to attack with their scythe like arms. Unfortunately, they can still be attack from above, below and behind.

 **Crabmeat:** Another famous Badnik, these are, surprisingly, based off of crabs. The photo receptors on its eye stalks allow **Crabmeat** a great range of vision. It will generally scuttle around its patch until an unsuspecting person walks near, in which case it will fire energy balls or missiles at them.


	3. 2) Checker Hills

**A/N:** *Insert Sonic meme here*

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** All properties of the series belong to SEGA and Sonic Team. I only own Reiko and the extended background of the Chaos Emeralds, since that is open to interpretation.

 **Arc 01:** Green Hill

 **Chapter 02:** Checker Hills

The pair continued their journey through the hills, destroying several Badniks along the way. Despite the obvious damage done by Dr Eggman's army, the beauty of the area was still apparent. The lush grass, the palm trees and the totem poles, still standing proud in defiance to Eggman's plots.

After destroying some Choppers along a bridge Sonic spoke.

"How about looking for Eggman in those mines?"

"Are you mad?!" Reiko exclaimed. "No one ever goes down them!"

"But if Eggman's mining Chaos Emeralds, then he'd be down at least one of them, right?" Sonic asked, jogging onwards.

"I...I suppose so," Reiko sighed, following.

Suddenly a laser flew past their heads. Sonic turned slightly.

"Badniks!" he exclaimed, eyeing the large amount of Buzz Bombers and Crabmeats.

"They must've followed the trail of their dead buddies," Reiko said in dismay, looking to Sonic. "There's too many, and if we get trapped they'll just send in more."

"Then we run," Sonic chuckled. "Ever fancied a race?"

Reiko looked at him, "You're not serious, are you?"

"If you wanna keep up then you need practice right?"

Reiko sighed and raced off at top speed, followed by Sonic and several lasers. The pair dashed through the hills, with Sonic slowing down occasionally to let Reiko catch up. The Badniks, too, were relentless in their pursuit and with every metre the pair covered more and more turned up.

The pair managed to make it to a large open top cavern. The whole place shone radiantly in as the sunlight reflected off the checker rocks and walls. The waterfalls glistened and sparkled and totem poles stood strong in defiance of the Badniks.

"Roadblock!" Sonic shouted when he spotted several Crabmeats and Neutrons blocking the path.

"Up here!" Reiko shouted, veering right to a nearby sun-drenched wall.

Taking a deep breath Reiko jumped and grabbed a rocky out crop before climbing her way up the cracks and juts.

"What are you doing?" Sonic shouted, taking out a few Buzz Bombers and Neutrons.

"There's a cave up here, we can use it to escape," Reiko replied, pulling herself onto a ledge. "Can't you climb?"

"Not like that" the hedgehog said over the sound of several Motobugs running into each other. "Wait, hang on, I think I can make it!"

The hedgehog ran up a small rocky hill and across some broken bridges.

"Watch out for the Buzz Bombers!" Reiko shouted as a trio of the Badniks hovered menacingly.

"No worries," Sonic said with a cheeky grin before spin jumping across the mechs and landing on the ledge.

They looked down below at the large group of Badniks as they left, leaving several small animals behind.

"Poor things..." Reiko sighed.

"I've seen Eggman do that before, using animals as batteries..." Sonic said sadly.

"How come...how _can_ he do that?"

"I don't know," Sonic shrugged, before walking off. "C'mon, we have Chaos Emeralds to find."

-*G:S1*-

"You've got speed," Sonic said as they neared the cave exit. "You just need to work on your pacing a bit."

"That's good to know haha," Reiko laughed. "So tell me about yourself."

"Mmm?"

"Well, all I know is you're Sonic the Hedgehog and you've run into Eggman a few times. Anything else?"

Sonic thought for a moment as they came to a spot nearer the lake. "Well...I was born on Christmas Island...nothing interesting about my childhood, but my parents let me travel from an early age. Eggman attacked the island once and me and few of the people defended it. I've been seeing the world and travelling ever since. What about you, how'd you end up the only free person here?"

"Um...well..."

"Ohohohohoho!" came an evil cackle from above.

"Eggman!" Sonic shouted.

Floating down in his small grey Egg Mobile came the moustached, rotund, bespectacled scientist that was Dr Eggman.

"Sonic, what a pleasant surprise," the man greeted. "And you've brought the girl too, how convenient."

"It's Reiko," the chinchilla growled.

"Why are you after the Chaos Emeralds, Eggman?" Sonic demanded.

"Hmph, I see no reason to tell you!" Eggman snickered. "I've seen the mess you two have made here. Now you've got to live with the consequences."

A large checker ball fell out of the Egg Mobile attached to a long chain. Eggman grinned and charged at the pair, swinging the ball around menacingly while heading for Reiko. The chinchilla ducked, sending the ball careening into a tree. The tree snapped and fell, just as Sonic moved Reiko out of the way. It landed with a deafening crash.

"Oh no, you don't," Eggman growled, turning the Egg Mobile around. "You're not getting away this time." The wrecking ball swung out to the right in a wide arc, grazing the trees.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Egghead!" Sonic laughed, dodging to the side to avoid the wrecking ball as it came dangerously close to the hedgehog's head. Eggman grumbled and swerved to try and hit Reiko. Reiko ducked and jumped up, kicking it in a vulnerable place on the underbelly of the pod.

The Egg Mobile rocked slightly, forcing Eggman to steady it quickly, just as Sonic bounded on to the console.

"Stop that, you irritating little hedgehog!" Eggman shouted angrily.

Sonic only laughed as Eggman aimed the ball at him. Naturally he missed and plunged the ball into a tree, snapping it like a twig. This left him open for another three bumps from Sonic and Reiko.

"See, Reiko? When he's by himself he's nothing," Sonic said, casually fist bumping her.

Eggman growled again and swung the ball around, laying waste to anything in its way. Taking a deep breath, Reiko ran under the ball, sliding in the dirt, and kicked the Egg Mobile again, followed by Sonic leaping into the console once more.

Eggman panicked as the machine began to explode. The scientist gave an annoyed grunt and detached the smoking wrecking ball before escaping.

Sonic and Reiko headed after him but from out of nowhere several Buzz Bombers appeared and began to fire, leaving Eggman to escape, laughing all the way.

"Damn it!" Reiko muttered, jumping and kicking a Buzz Bomber into another.

"Yoohoo!" Sonic waved at one, jumping up and down.

The nearest Buzz Bomber locked on and fired. Sonic jumped, causing it to miss and fire into another Buzz Bomber.

"Go on, into the forests," Reiko said softly, ushering the animals that fell out of the mechs away from the fight.

Before long Sonic and Reiko had destroyed all the Badniks and set off after the mad scientist.

-*G:S1*-

 **Bestiary:-**

 **Chopper:** Another Badnik that would later inspire an entire line of mechs, **Choppers** are piranha-based Badniks that, like their names suggest, chop anyone that strays near. They patrol places near bridges and leap out to chop at the victims.

 **Newtron:** Chameleon-like Badniks that have a cloaking device that allow them to remain hidden in place until Sonic or anyone else strays near then fire lasers, if green, or turn into a kamikaze missile, if blue. Despite the fact that they have the ability to cloak themselves, they have only made two other appearances; _Sonic the Hedgehog 4_ and _Sonic: Lost World_.


	4. 3) Wrecking Ball

**A/N:** Renamed the story as 'The Conquest of South Island'.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** All properties are owned by SEGA and Sonic Team. I only own Reiko, her parents and the extended lore of the Chaos Emeralds, since it's up for interpretation anyway. Please support the official release.

 **Arc 01:** Green Hill

 **Chapter 03:** Wrecking Ball

"Get back here, Eggman!" Sonic yelled as he and Reiko chased the mad doctor through the hills.

"Not on your life, Sonic!" Eggman yelled back.

The doctor turned slightly, peering over his glasses. Curses! His pursuers were closer than he thought. Eggman looked hurriedly for a way to escape them and headed down a large pit near the lake. He could kill two birds with one stone.

Well...

Three.

Sonic and Reiko arrived at the scaffolding near the pit. The pit, a mineshaft, had several waterfalls that sent water crashing down onto the flooded floor. Large mining drills and conveyors littered the floor, pulling up and crushing dirt which was dispensed, surprisingly, in neat scaffolding was made from wood and totem poles, which angered Reiko.

"How dare that man use the island's heritage for...for _scaffolding!_ " she spluttered in disbelief and anger.

Sonic clenched his fist and leaped down the scaffolding, running along the gangplanks, quickly followed by Reiko. They quietly dashed across the dampening wood, jumping over the broken boards.

"Hey, look at this," Reiko whispered, pointing to a large carving of a gem.

"What is it?" Sonic asked, keeping to the rock wall. "Is that a gem?"

Reiko nodded. "I think there's a Chaos Emerald round here. We should be careful, we don't want Eggman noticing us here."

"Got it," Sonic nodded quietly, looking for the quickest way down.

The hedgehog bounded down the platforms in a ball while Reiko parkoured through, sneaking into the mineshaft.

-*G:S1*-

The mineshaft was dimly lit and the only sound was that of the water dripping from the ceiling.

"We must be right under the lake," Reiko said, her voice echoing through the mine. "There should probably be some kind of marker in here if this where the Chaos Emerald is."

"Like this one?" Sonic asked, running up to a tile with another gem glyph on it.

Reiko joined him, looking at the glyph. "Should we press it?"

Sonic shrugged and slowly pressed his hand against it. The tile pushed in and was swiftly followed by a dull rumbling and quaking as the wall opened up. Inside was a dark room, lit only by the sunlight the filtered through cracks in the walls. The floors and pillars inside were a mix of marble and mosaics that depicted a group of echidnas kneeling in a circle around the room. The whole room seemed ancient, but it was as if time hadn't touched it. In the very centre of the room was pool of sparkling water and, on a pedestal in the middle, was a shining purple gem.

"Is that...?" Reiko gasped.

"I think it is..." Sonic said, carefully walking to the gem.

The entire room seemed to radiate glory and power, yet gave a distinct aura of dread and fear. And strangely enough all that power converged on that single gem. When the pair got close to it the mixture of glory and dread suddenly vanished and with it, the feeling of the world spinning.

"A Chaos Emerald," Reiko whispered.

As soon as the words were spoken the world sped up again as the sound of Eggman's Badnik army rumbled through the mine.

"We gotta get this outta here," Sonic said snatching the Emerald and dashing over a fallen pillar.

"Ah...hey!" Reiko protested, following. "Have some respect for the thing!"

Reiko chased Sonic across the temple, following him across several broken pillars and structures.

"Sonic, there's a way out up there," Reiko said, nodding to a gap in the wall.

"Got it!"

They both dashed further up to the stone artwork on the walls, just as the Badniks found them and unleashed a hail of lasers upon them. Thankfully, their terrible aim opened the gap up so it was wide enough to get the pair to get through.

"Next time you try to capture someone, just make sure your boss gave you a better aiming system," Sonic said cockily as they both escaped.

-*G:S1*-

The pair were running through the hills, having finally lost the Badniks that were after them, when Eggman found them. He swooped down in his Egg Mobile, carefully lowering a large checker wrecking ball from inside.

"I've seen the mess you two have made of my mines," he growled.

"Oh yeah? Watcha gonna do, Eggbutt?" Sonic retorted.

( **Fight and Away- KH 1.5 OST** )

"Simple. I'm gonna crush you into oblivion!" Eggman laughed, swinging the wrecking ball around.

"...How does he manage to fit that inside?" Reiko asked.

 **Egg mobile-H**

Eggman immediately went on the offensive, powering for the pair of them in hopes of squishing them into animal pancakes. They avoid, causing Eggman to miss, his wrecking ball crashing into the ground causing dusty and checker dirt to fly into the air.

Sonic took the chance to dent the machine with a Spin Jump before leaping off as Eggman freed the ball. The mad scientist growled and swung round, making the ball swing in a large arc around it. Sonic dashed out of the way while Reiko ducked under it, running under the Eggmobile and punched it.

"Ahhhh!" she hissed shaking her hand in pain.

"Reiko, dodge!" Sonic shouted.

Reiko looked up, seeing the wrecking ball come close to her face. "Oh, crap!" The chinchilla ducked as the ball grazed her head before kicking it all the way up letting it slam into the machine.

 **"** Oh, you'll regret that," Eggman growled, electrifying the ball and spinning it in a vertical circle wildly.

Sonic rushed to Reiko and grabbed her from underneath. Eggman chuckled and pressed a button on his machine. A loud buzzer went off and out of the undergrowth came several Motobugs.

"Seriously?" Sonic laughed. "You have, what, a hundred Badnik models and you send out _these_ guys?"

Eggman blinked slightly in realization of his slight stupidity. "I-it's all part of my master plan, you horrid hedgehog!" He shouted, flustered.

"Oh, really?" the hedgehog replied as he booted a Motobug in the face. "What plan is that?"

"Like I'd tell yo _oof!_ " Eggman yelled as Reiko managed to propel herself of another Motobug and on to the control panel. "Why you...get off my Egg Mobile!"

The doctor tried to frantically push Reiko off but received a kick in the face for his trouble. "You'll have to do better than that, Doc," Reiko laughed as she jumped off, smashing a Motobug down in the process.

The remaining Motobugs turned their attention from Sonic to Reiko after that and all powered towards her, surrounding her and attacking her with their flimsy pincers. Eggman growled and headed for the chinchilla, wrecking ball mercilessly swinging underneath and smacking her in the head. Reiko flew to the side, unable to stop the Motobugs from attacking now.

"Reiko!" Sonic yelled, dashing over to her and destroying the Badniks that were attacking. "Reiko, are you alright."

"Hehehe, Sonic...there's three of you..." she giggled in the dizziness. "Oh my word, Eggman just got fatter! Oh...wait it's just the wrecking ball."

Sonic looked behind him and saw the ball power towards him. Eggman laughed. "This time I've got you!"

Sonic looked around and rushed Reiko to a small ledge, narrowly avoiding the ball as it came crashing into the checker wall. Eggman swerved round and headed for Sonic again. The hedgehog grinned and jumped over the Egg Mobile, bouncing off one of the few Motobugs that were there and propelled himself to a wall, pushing himself off it and headed for Eggman, smashing his foot into the control panel.

"No!" Eggman shouted as the Egg Mobile began to smoke. Sonic laughed as Eggman managed to regain control of the vehicle.

On the ledge Reiko managed to regain her senses and took a look at the Egg Mobile. "One more hit should do it, Sonic!" she shouted.

Sonic grinned, already having a plan in mind. While Eggman was still distracted Sonic rushed round him, making sure Eggman saw him. "You...I'll get you this time!" Again he swerved the wrecking ball around him. Sonic deliberately stayed within an inch of the ball, running up the wall and leading Eggman along. Finally, when the ball was high enough Sonic leaped off the wall and over the ball as it followed him. However the weight of the ball took over and the ball came crashing down onto the front of the Egg Mobile.

( **End Fight and Away** )

The machine began to explode, dropping the wrecking ball on the ground. Eggman glared at Sonic before fleeing. Sonic began to chase after him but was stopped by Reiko.

"We can get him later," she said quietly, beckoning him to follow. "Follow me."

Sonic followed into a clearing where they were met with a large silver capsule. Inside were around a hundred small animals, cramped together like sardines in a can.

"I spotted it while you were finishing off Eggman."

"It's a prison capsule," Sonic said sadly. "If it's still here then Eggman will come back for it."

He jumped up and landed on the button on top, pressing it down and forcing the lock open. The top of the capsule broke open and the Flicky birds and rabbits all flew and climbed out before scampering off to the forest.

Before long they arrived at the edge of the hills around late afternoon, the path leading to more forest and some ruins.

"Eggman went off this way," Sonic noted, thinking back to the fight.

"I hope you've got a liking for lava," Reiko said dryly.

* * *

 **Bestiary:-**

 **Egg Mobile-H:** Eggman's most famous 'boss' machine. The wrecking ball machine is one of the most recognizable icons of Sonic history and it, along with Green Hill, has gone down as one of the most famous first levels in gaming history, so much so that the Egg Mobile-H has been used several more times of the series' 20 year history.

* * *

 **A/N:** And that's the first arc done and dusted. Due to the game being just over 40 minutes long, this story is about 19 chapters if you count the prologue and the epilogue.


	5. 4) Ancient Wonder

**A/N:** Everyone's favourite lava filled level is back. Next chapter we get some backstory on Reiko and another Emerald.

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** The properties of this fic all belong to SEGA, I only own Reiko and the extended backstory of the Chaos Emeralds, since it is up for interpretation anyway. Please support the official release.

 **Arc 02:** Marble

 **Chapter 04:** Ancient Wonder

The pair arrived at the Marble ruins as the sun began to set. The first thing Sonic noticed about the area was the contrast between it and Green Hill. Unlike the hills, the Marble ruins was contained in a large mountainous area covered with pine trees that gave off a slightly uneasy presence, given the time of day. The overcast sky was covered in an orange glow from the setting sun, encasing the forest in a golden shimmer.

Scattered around the place were several ancient pillars and pantheons made entirely from green marble. Furthermore, although there were the odd vines that sprawled across some off the hidden ruins, the majority of the area was well kept.

Clearly these people were proud of their heritage.

"Careful, Badniks," Reiko whispered, observing a pair of robotic pink caterpillars crawling along the ground.

"No biggie," Sonic shrugged, jumping on top of one and getting spiked as the robot burst into multiple segments. "Ow!"

Reiko rolled her eyes and ran over after Sonic kicked the other one in the head, destroying it and freeing the animal inside.

"Those things hurt..." Sonic grumbled, rubbing a cut on his arm.

"That's what you get when you run off," she chuckled. "Those Caterkillers have habit of bursting apart, so be careful."

The pair continued through the ruins, destroying any Buzz Bombers and Caterkillers that came near. From time to time the two would strike up conversation about their likes and dislikes, nearly anything to avoid the topic of what was happening on South Island.

As they came to an exposed mountain path, Sonic noticed something on the horizon. Far off in the distance was a large row of factory chimneys spewing out a dangerous amount of smog.

"What in the world...?" Sonic gasped.

"That?" Reiko asked sadly. "That's Scrap Brain, Eggman's city. You should know what his...tastes are if you've fought him."

"I've never seen one that big," Sonic admitted, realizing Eggman was going all out on this conquest.

"Mhmm...gotta make the Badniks somewhere, eh?"

Reiko turned and continued.

"I'm sorry," Sonic said, following after her.

Reiko didn't reply.

-*G:S1*-

Pretty soon the sun had set completely, leaving only the stars and the moon to light the way.

It wasn't long until they came to a large collection of old buildings with no visible exit in sight. It didn't help was the cluster of buildings sprouted long creeping shadows in the already dim light.

"Seems like the people of the old civilizations liked to show off," Sonic said dryly, staring at a large statue of an echidna in Roman garb.

"And you don't?" Reiko laughed, searching around the foot of a tall obelisk.

"What are you looking for?" Sonic asked, intrigued.

"A hidden...aha!" She quickly pushed through a few stones and bricks. "Entrance to the temple. Come on."

Sonic grinned and slipped down after her. The first thing that struck him was the immense heat the place gave off. Sonic was amazed that the whole place wasn't melting. In fact, in the distance he could swear the floor was giving on orange glow that illuminated the ancient tyrian walls. Across them were several marble mosaics and torn tapestries that hung helplessly, a final reminder of the civilization that built the temple.

Sonic set off, a little more careful than before, followed by Reiko.

"So, what were these temples for?" he asked.

Reiko looked up in thought. "I believe it was built to house the Emeralds shortly before it collapsed...like beacons I guess. The only other one is the Labyrinth, but that's flooded now..."

"Watch it!"

Sonic dived on Reiko, pushing her out of the way as a huge steel weight came crashing down on them. The weight paused and hoisted itself back up, hanging dangerously on the ceiling.

"You okay?" he asked helping her up.

Reiko nodded and stood, a little shaken up. "Forgot to mention the traps." She laughed.

As the girl started off down the corridor Sonic couldn't help but wonder how she was in such good spirits despite everything happening. Not that it was a bad thing. In fact he could say that, although he'd only known her a day, he admired her ability to stay positive.

But he couldn't help but think that, inside, she was holding back a lot of emotion.

' _That can't be healthy,_ ' Sonic thought, following her.

"Um...Sonic..." Reiko said hesitantly. "You might wanna see this."

Sonic joined at ledge, finding that the entire floor from here was lava. He looked at Reiko with a look that asked 'what the hell?'.

Reiko shrugged. "I know this place is full of volcanic activity...guess this area was affected by it."

Sonic looked around quickly.

"Oh you've got to be joking..." he sighed, jumping on to one of the weights, steadying it as it swung round wildly. "Come on."

"Are you _insane!?_ " Reiko shrieked. "That's lava!"

"It's also the only way across," Sonic pointed out, jumping to the next weight.

Reiko fidgeted before sighing. She took a deep breath, a run up, and a huge leap, clinging to the weight for dear life. Nervously, she looked at the bubbling lava below.

"Holy crap! If we get out of this, I'm having your head!" she screamed, partly serious, mostly in terror.

Sonic chuckled and began to leap from weight to weight, with Reiko in tow.

"U-um, Sonic? I think we have a problem," Reiko said, feigning calm.

Sonic looked around and cursed as a small swarm of blue bat-like Badniks flew towards them. Sonic swung the weight to avoid them. He looked at Reiko, who was busy trying to kick them away.

"No, don't!" he shouted.

"Why not?!" she shouted back.

"They have animals in them, right? If we destroy 'em..."

Reiko paused and looked at the Badniks as they came back. "Just...don't make them swing too much."

Sonic nodded and jumped to the next weight, making sure that the momentum of the previous one allowed Reiko to reach it. About halfway across the Bat Brains came back, swarming around them again. They swung the weights around, taking care not to hit the Badniks, but enough to scare them back. With two dramatic leaps they made it to the exit. Sonic spied an old mechanism, and pulled it to shut a stone door behind them.

He turned to Reiko and chuckled. Reiko laughed, panting a little.

"I'm so gonna get you back for that, haha."

Sonic grinned and the two continued down the catacombs.

* * *

 **Bestiary:-**

 **Caterkiller:** Everyone's favourite caterpillar Badnik, Caterkiller is one the most recognizable Badniks from the Classic Era, along with Motobug and Buzz Bomber And, like them, they have made it all the way to 2017 in many different variants, but largely unchanged in design. Caterkiller is unusual for Eggman's robot army as it has no real form of attack- it just patrols up and down its programmed territory, not even making an attempt to attack any intruders. Thus, its ability to break apart and scatter if struck anywhere but the head makes this robot a rather good defensive sentry, if a little slow.

 **Bat Brain:** A small bat-like robot that exists to patrol and defend important caves. Taking advantage of the dark, they wait on the ceilings of caves or tombs and fly at anyone that comes near. Unfortunately, they are very vulnerable when they fly down or up to roost again.


	6. 5) Background Check

**A/N:** Short chapter this time round. Enjoy!

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** I do not own anything about _Sonic the Hedgehog_. All ownership goes to SEGA, I only own Reiko, her family and the extended lore of the Chaos Emeralds, since that is mostly up for interpretation anyway.

 **Arc 02:** Marble

 **Chapter 05:** Background Check

The catacombs seemed to go on forever and the pair had already dodged a fair few trips into the lava already, no thanks to the Bat Brains that fluttered around constantly. Not wanting to be boiled alive, they decided to take the overland routes.

By now night time was in full swing and the moon hung directly above them, as if it were watching their every move as they ran through the forest. Due to an absence of Badniks, Sonic decided to strike up a conversation.

"Hey, Reiko?"

"Mmm?"

"Do you mind telling me _how_ Eggman took control?"

Reiko looked down a little. "I was expecting that a little sooner, haha."

"Never found the time," Sonic chuckled, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Alright. I suppose I should fill you in..."

-*G: S1*-

 _"I remember it like it was yesterday. I was at home, just finished school for the year, when a news report came on the television._

"'...And in other news, the mayor announced a partnership with a scientist from the United Federation,' _the female newsreader read from the autocue_. 'The scientist, named Dr Ivo Robotnik, has promised to find new, alternative and environmentally friendly sources of fuel and energy.'

 _"I was sitting on the sofa, playing a game on my handheld, while Dad was badmouthing the mayor for agreeing to let a human onto the island. Dad was the local historian and was wary of outsiders, notably humans due to their...bad track record in history._

"'What an idiot,' _he had said, shaking his head before lighting a cigarette._

"'How come, Renji?' _Mom had asked him._

"'You know what humans are like, they don't _think!_ '

"'Don't stress about it, dear,' _Mom laughed, ever the optimist._ 'I know throughout history they weren't the brightest of people, but they have good intentions.'

"'Yeah, because good intentions solved the world's problems,' _Dad replied gruffly._

 _"It was a few days later when Eggman made his move. We were getting reports of people disappearing from the streets and screams from 'Robotnik's' labs. Then the mayor disappeared and, the same day, Eggman started his assault. The island was overwhelmed quickly by the amount of Badniks that Eggman had created and, although there was some resistance, it was quickly crushed due to our society's reclusive nature._

 _"And then they came for us._

 _"They came through the doors at the bottom of our apartment first, killing anyone that tried to run, chasing us upstairs where more Badniks were waiting, along with the fat man himself in his Egg Mobile._

"'Well, well, if it isn't my favourite historian, Renji?' _he said threateningly._

 _My father stood in between us and the robots._ 'What do you want, Robotnik?'

"'Simple, the artefact you have in your possession. You know, the one from that dig I sent you on last week.'

 _"I remember a small gasp escaping from my dad as he narrowed his eyes._ 'You will _never_ have that.'

 _"The doctor smiled._ 'Very well. Attack!'

 _"Then all hell broke loose. While everyone was ducking and diving, trying to destroy the Badniks, Dad broke the glass cabinet and threw a red pendant at me.."_

-*G: S1*-

"...He told me to run and I did. I ran as far as I could. I have no idea how I made it out of that city alive." Reiko looked at Sonic, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Please find them. Please!"

Sonic looked at her sympathetically and pulled her into a hug. "I promise I'll free them unharmed." He wiped away her tears. "You've got to be strong, ok?"

Reiko nodded, her breath shaky. "Sorry...I needed to let that out."

"No problem, now let's go find that Chaos Emerald!"

-*G: S1*-

"Are you sure it's round here?" Sonic asked, looking around the catacombs.

"Yeah, the symbols lead here," Reiko replied, sighing in frustration.

Sonic moved a few old marble pots, much to Reiko's chagrin. "Here!"

Reiko joined him, staring at the symbol on the floor. They looked at each other before Reiko tentatively tapped the tile with her foot. The floor opened up in a massive spiral pattern that made a staircase that went to the deepest part of the catacombs. It was accompanied by an orange glow and searing heat.

"Great, more lava," Reiko muttered.

"No biggie," Sonic chuckled, dashing down the stairs.

Arriving seconds later, followed by Reiko a minute after, he found a glittering green Chaos Emerald on an alter. The rest of the place was surrounded by lava that flowed in from above. There was no other exit visible, explaining why Eggman hadn't found it. If he couldn't understand the rest of the symbols beyond 'Chaos Emerald' then, chances are, he couldn't find this place.

"Since when did this become _Tomb Raider_?" Reiko laughed.

Sonic shrugged and looked around. "This is too easy."

"I know," Reiko replied casually, looking at the symbols. "From looks of things, those are targets...which means that this room is probably designed to collapse if the Emerald is taken. And _that_ " -she pointed to the staircase-"Is the only exit."

"Then hang on tight," Sonic said, tossing the Emerald to her.

She caught it, the Emerald fumbling in her hands before it settled. Right on cue, several huge weights came crashing down from the ceiling into the markers on the walls. The walls shattered as lava surged out. Quick as a flash, Sonic scooped up the chinchilla and dashed out, speeding over the stairs as they fell out from under them.

The pair made it out of the chamber, just as the floor closed. Sonic let Reiko down, panting a little.

"Is fighting Eggman this much fun?" she laughed, also panting slightly.

Sonic laughed before sitting down, deciding to have a well deserved rest.


	7. 6) Ooooh Shiny

**A/N:** Sorry if the boss fights are not that thrilling, I am trying to mix things up so they aren't as...basic as in the games.

Also, since the Emeralds can communicate with Knuckles in game (presumably that's what his radar actually is in Adventure 1 and 2) I'd assume they could with Sonic since he can use them to turn super, be revived, roast insects except not the last one.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Sonic the Hedgehog_ and all its media belongs to SEGA. I only own Reiko and the other OCs, as well as the extended lore of the Chaos Emeralds, since that is mostly up for interpretation anyway.

 **Arc 02:** Marble

 **Chapter 07:** Oooh, Shiny

"Sonic, to your right!"

"Got it!" the hedgehog said, jumping on the head of a Caterkiller.

It had been about an hour since they grabbed a Chaos Emerald and, as luck would have it, they had managed to locate another one. Unfortunately so had the Badniks, leading to a frenzied dash to the Emerald.

"Reiko, duck!"

Reiko looked, saw a trio of Buzzbombers above her, yelped and ducked, narrowly avoiding the laser blasts as they flew past. Sonic jumped, destroying all three in one go. Reiko quickly got to her feet and destroyed another Caterkiller with a sweeping kick.

"Are there any more?" she asked, a tad worried.

"Not yet," Sonic replied, inspecting a small burn on his arm. "Man, those things hurt...Are we close?"

"I think so. Unless the old civilization didn't have ego problems."

She laughed and walked to another marble pantheon, this one a bit more well kept than the others. The pantheon blended well with the trees, causing it to be hidden from afar which explained how Eggman had not found it earlier.

The pair walked up the thick steps, Sonic marvelling at the beauty of the building. Their footsteps echoed as they walked to the Chaos Emerald, its aura calling them to it, beckoning them almost. Like the previous two, this Chaos Emerald was beautifully cut and shone a brilliant blue colour.

 _Closer..._

"Can you feel that?" Sonic asked, poking his ear slightly.

"Feel what?"

 _Closer..._

"Like a...buzzing in your ears?"

Reiko's eyes narrowed. "...Are you feeling ok?"

Sonic chuckled, trying to figure out how to explain when the noise spoke again.

 _Danger!_

"Get down!" Sonic shouted, diving on to Reiko.

 **(Fight and Away- KH1.5 OST)**

A large, sizzling fireball flew over their heads, impacting the marble and leaving it blackened. Sonic looked at the attacker.

"Eggman!"

"Hoho, Sonic!" the fat scientist laughed from inside his Egg Mobile. "Fancy running into you here."

"How...?" Reiko gasped in disbelief.

"It wasn't so hard," Eggman grinned over his glasses. "After all, you _did_ leave a trail of my trashed robots."

Sonic facepalmed. "Darn it."

"Indeed. Now if you don't mind, get away from _my_ Chaos Emerald!"

"Never!" Reiko growled, standing before him.

"Very well," he growled back, aiming the launcher beneath the Egg Mobile at them. "It'll be _your_ funeral."

"Uh oh..."

 **Egg Mobile F**

Reiko jumped to the side as several fireballs blasted out of it. She turned, her eyes widening in shock as Eggman flew to the Emerald.

"Sonic!"

"On it!"

Sonic dashed towards the Egg Mobile, avoiding the flames it shot. As he closed in he leaped to Eggman, only for the madman to swerve out of the way. Before Sonic could react Eggman had the Chaos Emerald and was making for the exit.

 _Follow..._

"You missed!" Reiko shrieked, running up to Sonic. "How could you miss?! He was _three feet in front of you!_ "

"Never mind that, we have to get it back!"

And with that Sonic dashed off, Reiko following behind. The duo chased Eggman back into the catacombs. Eggman led them to a large lava-filled chamber, laughing madly at them. The chamber was falling apart, with many holes in the ceiling and a large one in the back wall, through which you could see the rising sun. Jutting out from the lava were several pillars and arches.

"Let's see you get over here!"

"Woah!" Sonic shouted, screeching to a halt and stopping Reiko from falling over the edge.

"Geez...!" Reiko gasped in fright.

Sonic frowned and began to leap across the pillars. "Be careful, Reiko!"

"I know!"

Eggman frowned and began to launch fireballs at them, burning the pillars and arches before the pair could get to them. Sonic looked around for a foothold and leaped on to a pillar.

"Reiko!" he shouted, pointing to a nearby pillar.

"Oh, no you don't!" Eggman growled, shooting another fireball at it.

Reiko watched as the pillar burst into flames. "Er...hang on, I have an idea! Keep him distracted!"

Reiko began to jump on to some spare pillars. Not having any other options, Sonic began to close in on Eggman. Naturally, Eggman turned his attention to his greatest enemy and began to attack him directly, bombarding him with more fire.

"Heh, heh, you're gonna have to do better than that, Eggman!" Sonic grinned, jumping up and denting the Egg Mobile before speeding along a curved pathway. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Reiko with quite a big marble block.

Realizing what she was going to do Sonic continued the attack on Eggman, managing to disorientate the man and damage his Egg Mobile considerably.

"Hey, Eggman! Bet ya can't catch me!" he taunted.

"Ooh, get back here!" Eggman yelled, following him, shooting fireballs all the way. Sonic leaped around, dodging him until he came to a large platform by the hole in the wall. He noticed Reiko come out of the shadows with the large marble block. She put her finger to her lips, asking Sonic to be quiet.

"Well, Eggman, it looks like you got me," Sonic sighed, holding his arms up in surrender. "I suppose you may as well get it over with."

"You're _really_ giving yourself up?" Eggman asked, suspicious.

"Yep, there's no _way_ I can out of this," he replied as sincerely as possible, glancing at Reiko as she snuck underneath, silently lodging the block into the fire launcher.

"Hmm...very well," Eggman grinned, aiming the launcher.

The Egg Mobile began to bleep loudly, unable to get the fire out. The Egg Mobile promptly began to spark a little.

"No, no, no! Abort programme!" Eggman yelled, fumbling to press the right button.

The Egg Mobile dropped as he aborted the programme, enough for Sonic to reach it. He jumped on to the machine.

"Give me the Emerald, Eggman!" he shouted.

"Never!" Eggman yelled, throwing the Emerald into the air, only for it to be caught by a Bat Brain, which quickly flew off.

"No!" Reiko cried, watching the Bat Brain fly off.

"I'll be back for you, girl," Eggman hissed, shaking Sonic off and flying away, leaving them to recover.

Sonic watched Eggman flee, he could swear that he had heard a voice say _'find me'_.

 **(End Fight and Away)**

-*G:S1*-

 _30 Minutes Later_

"He has a Chaos Emerald..." Reiko said sadly as Sonic landed at the bottom of the slope.

"Don't sweat it. We've still got three more to find," Sonic said, hiding his own frustration.

"But...but what if he finds them first!" Reiko panicked.

"Reiko," Sonic said calmly, putting his hands on her shoulders. "That won't happen. Calm down, you can't focus without being calm."

Reiko nodded, composing herself. "There's...there's a town not far from here, Spring Yard. It was built above the Labyrinth, there...there'll probably an Emerald around there."

Sonic smiled. "Then let's go!"

* * *

 **Bestiary:-**

 **Egg Mobile-F:** A simple machine. Dr Eggman has outfitted the Egg Mobile with a launcher and flammable liquid. This variant of the Egg Mobile can launch fire bombs to great effect, though it is incredibly inaccurate. This machine's only real strength is the spread effect of the fire.


	8. 7) Pinball Town

**A/N:** We good? We good.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Sonic the Hedgehog_ is owned by SEGA and Sonic Team, I only Reiko and her parents, as well as the extended lore of the Chaos Emeralds since that's mostly up for interpretation anyway. Please support the official release.

 **Warning: Readers my find a part of this chapter a little uncomfortable.**

 **Arc 03:** Spring Yard

 **Chapter 07:** Pinball Town

Reiko yawned, stretching her arms. It'd been a long walk from the Marble ruins and, adding that to the lack of sleep from three days on the run even before she had Sonic, Reiko was unusually tired. She looked at the hedgehog who was casually jogging in a small rocky ridge a few steps ahead.

She didn't know where he got the energy.

"Do you...have a...potion...or something?" she asked between breaths.

Sonic turned his head and chuckled. "You play too many video games."

Reiko couldn't help but laugh as well. "Maybe."

"Well, I guess you could always get healthier when we get out of this."

" _If_ we get out of this."

Sonic glanced at Reiko slightly. She looked completely worn out, and as much as he would hate to slow down and buy Eggman some more time he knew it wouldn't be right on the girl to keep pushing her without rest. It wasn't like she had regular encounters with the mad doctor.

"Come on," Sonic said, picking up Reiko, despite her protests of 'I'm fine'. "Let's get to a river or something."

"There's a river further along this ridge," Reiko pouted. "We can get to Spring Yard from there."

"Ok!"

And with that the hedgehog dashed away.

* * *

 _Scrap Brain_

The lights of Dr Eggman's interrogation room switched on suddenly, forcing the woman to look away from their glare. Her eyes adjusted quickly, letting her look around the room. It was an interrogation room, marginally cleaner than the cells she and the rest of the prisoners were kept, cold and lifeless with a few mockingly animal shaped Badniks. She moved her head slightly to try and move her long white bangs out of her face. She didn't bother trying to break free of the chains on her wrists. It would be a waste of time.

A door slid open and the rotund figure of Dr Eggman stalked inside, fuming.

"Run into trouble did we?" the woman asked with dry chuckle.

"Shut up!" Eggman bellowed. "Stubborn, just like that brat of yours."

"You had better not have harmed my daughter," she growled.

Eggman remained silent at that, causing the woman to grin. The doctor saw that and set off the charges in her shackles, electrocuting her. "You should hope I'm that merciful on the girl, Hikari."

He turned off the electricity and Hikaru slumped, catching her breath. "What...do you want?"

"You know exactly what I want," Eggman replied simply. "Now tell me where the Chaos Emeralds are!"

Hikari looked up and spat at the scientist, angering him further. He paced menacingly around her and continued. "I will tear this island apart if I have to find the rest of them. If you could just _tell_ me where the Emeralds are then I wouldn't have to get your daughter and get the information out of her!" He leaned in close to Hikari's face to the point where his fuzzy moustache brushed against her face. His breath smelled of...wait, was that motor oil? The scientist continued in a low growl. "You're making this harder on yourself, Hikari."

"My daughter doesn't know anything," Hikari stressed. "So leave her alone."

Eggman hmphed and walked over to a nearby screen and switched it on. On the screen was a large menacing tubular machine. It had several bizarre semi-circular devices around on it, some at angles, some on mechanical arms, others attached to the tube itself. The whole thing riddle with evil and it wasn't because Eggman had made it.

"What is that?" Hikari gulped.

"My new invention," Eggman chuckled to himself. "I called it the roboticizer." The man glanced at Hikari with a malicious grin. "Tell me, how good is your knowledge on the anatomy of the brain?"

"What?" the woman asked, confused.

"Now, although I am primarily a scientist, I have interests in the medical field." He walked around her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Do you know where stubbornness, free will, that sort of thing comes from? The pre-frontal lobe." Eggman took another walk around the table, taking care not to bump into the Badniks. "Now, it's fair to say you're a bit of a stubborn one are you not? Well they call the procedure for getting rid of that a 'trans-orbital lobotomy'. I learned all this from my grandfather by the way, brilliant man."

"Was he a madman like you?" Hikari growled.

"No, no, he was brilliant..." he started, until he realized the insult. "Why you...!" He composed himself quickly before continuing his explaination. "My roboticizer is basically a lobotomy machine, taking a little needle up above the eyeball and slowly hammering it into the brain. Only instead of making the person a vegetable it rewires the brain making them into an obedient slave, turning them into the perfect battle robots in the process."

"You're insane..." Hikari gasped.

"Not insane, _clever!_ " Eggman shouted into her ear. "I will leave you to think about that machine before I come back." He said, walking to the door. "I hope you make the right decision."

Eggman left after that, leaving Hikari to hope that, whoever this 'Sonic' was, he was looking after her daughter.

* * *

 _Spring Yard_

After the brief pit stop at the river Sonic and Reiko had found themselves in Spring Yard. One thing that amazed Sonic as he looked around was how well it fit in with the natural environment. It was not as advanced as cities in the United Federation, the nature of the islanders was why, though there were electrical wires above the roadways and telephone poles scattered around. However it was more integrated into the natural environment than similar towns and cities. The only thing that let it down were the lookout towers, floodlights that were not in use, and the sheer emptiness of it. Only the Badniks that patrolled the town remained.

"It seems very...pinbally," Sonic noted as he looked at the various pinball themed buildings.

"Well this is a casino town," Reiko said before frowning. "Though I don't actually know _why_ there are bumpers all over the place."

Suddenly a loud wail from a nearby siren split the silence. Sonic looked around, quickly spotting several Crabmeats and pink spiny snail-like Badniks coming out of the alleys and brown-bricked buildings.

"Why could it never be easy," Reiko sighed.

"Cos this way is more entertaining," the hedgehog grinned as he took to destroying several Crabmeats before rolling into an attacking snail-bot and popping it open. "Hey, Reiko?" He glanced at the girl as she dived under a Buzz Bomber, slide kicking a Crabmeat in the face, destroying it.

"Yeah?" she yelled, throwing a rock at Sonic's general direction.

Sonic ducked, noticing the destroyed snail behind him. "What do you think we should call those?" He rushed over to another mixed group of Crabmeats and snail-bots, curling into a ball and using the momentum to smash them, narrowly avoiding the spiked rears.

"I dunno! 'Spikes'?" Reiko replied, a little annoyed.

"What? That's a stupid name!"

"You try naming them!"

They managed to dispatch the remaining Badniks with ease. Afterwards they continued heading through the town.

"I'm sorry," Reiko said as they climbed some of the higher roadways.

"What for?" Sonic asked as they dashed over a small bridge.

"For being snappy."

Sonic stopped and motioned to an open building, a pinball arcade as it happened. They moved swiftly, destroying the Spikes' that inhabited it. On the other side Sonic replied, watching a few Crabmeats scuttled past. "It's alright."

"No, it isn't..."

"Shush!"

Reiko blinked. "That's a little ru-"

"Chaos Emerald!"

Sonic pointed to a convoy of Badniks, including a few humanoid mechs, marching through the streets. Trailing behind them were several islanders in shackles. Reiko clenched her first in disgust.

"I'll get him for this," she growled.

Sonic watched them continue down the streets. "Reiko, get ready for another fight."

"Oh, I'm ready," she said darkly.

* * *

 **Bestiary:-**

 **Spikes:** Spikes are small pink snail bots. While they're not attacking robots per se, they provide a danger to the unwary due to the spikes that give them their name. Spikes has not seen much action since the romp through Spring Yard, only appearing in Tropical Coast in _Sonic: Lost World_ and an arctic variant appearing in _Sonic the Hedgehog 4_.

 **SWATbot:** Appearing in SatAM and the Archie Sonic comics, SWATbots were a bit like the Egg Pawns of their day; mass produced consumer models that fuelled Dr Robotnik's army. Due to them making an appearance in _Sonic Chronicles_ , you can assume that they would be used in Eggman's early days of conquest, possibly before the Badnik Horde models came into production. In this they serve as Eggman's elite soldiers, protecting Scrap Brain and any major base.


	9. 8) Roboticizer

**A/N:** Dun, dun, dun!

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** The following is a none-profit fanfiction. _Sonic the Hedgehog_ and all properties belong to SEGA. I only Reiko and her parents, and the extended lore of the Chaos Emerald's since that's mostly up for interpretation anyway. Please support the official release.

 **Arc: Spring Yard**

 **08: Roboticizer**

Sonic and Reiko raced down a street to try and corner off the convoy. This was, of course, easier said than done. Though in a state of disrepair, Spring Yard was a still a maze of streets and buildings. The fact that everything was brown didn't help.

"Um...Reiko?" Sonic asked hesitantly. She wouldn't like this. "I think we're lost."

"Lost?" she repeated, dumbfounded. "Whaddaya mean 'lost'?!"

Sonic laughed sheepishly, angering Reiko more. She punched Sonic's arm quite hard. He yelped.

"Calm down, geez..."

"Calm down?!" she shouted, more upset than angry now. "How can I be calm, my parents are still _gone_ and we've just lost our chance to free those people!"

Sonic watched as she began to cry quietly. For once he didn't have an answer to the girl's problems. Reiko hiccupped and sat on a bench. "This is hopeless..."

"No!" Sonic said as he sat next to her. "Don't give up hope. Hope is a great thing to have! It keeps people fighting. Eggman might be able to do all this"- he motioned to the ruined and converted casinos- "but he can't stop you hoping. And if he can't stop that, he can be beaten."

Reiko looked at him. "I didn't think you'd be wise."

Sonic grinned. "Is there anywhere we can set up a trap?"

Reiko looked up, thinking, her mouth slowly curling into a grin. "The park."

She stood up and beckoned for Sonic to follow before running off.

-*G:S1*-

 _Scrap Brain_

The sack around Hikari's head was roughly removed and her eyes adjusted once more. Around her were the tall gray forms of Eggman's SWATbots, looking down at her with their cold lifeless stares. On the other end of the room was the roboticizer.

"Well, Hikari, have you made up your mind?" Eggman asked as he stood by the roboticizer.

The woman looked at the man defiantly. "My answer is no."

The faint smile on Eggman's face faltered slightly. Clearly he wasn't expecting that response. At least Hikari could have _that_ victory. Eggman stroked his moustache in slight frustration and annoyance.

"Either way, you will help me," he growled. "Willing or not!"

Hikari looked at him, putting on a stony face to hide her fear- fear of being forced to kill her daughter as one of those...machines. But she had to remain strong. She glared at Eggman, rage covering her fear.

Eggman smiled cruelly. "Very well. SWATbot 9331, bring in the other prisoner!"

The door slide open and in came a SWATbot carrying a struggling, brown-furred chinchilla. Hikari's eyes widened in shock.

"You can't!" she screamed, trying to get out of her bonds.

" _GET OFF ME!_ " the chinchilla man shouted, breaking free only to be grabbed by another SWATbot.

" _RENJI!_ "

"Careful! I want him in perfect condition!" Eggman yelled.

"Please! You can't, he's my husband!"

Hikari watched as her husband, Renji, was shoved into the roboticizer. Eggman laughed and walked to the control panel, grinning maliciously at Hikari. "Well then, Hikari? What is it you gave Reiko?"

"I...It...please, don't do this!" she pleaded.

"Tell me." Eggman stressed. "Or your husband gets roboticized."

"Don't tell him!" Renji yelled, his voice muffled by the glass.

"B-but you'll...you'll..."

"It's better than letting him harm her" he said, remaining composed.

"Well?" Eggman asked.

Hikari looked at Eggman, then her husband, then Eggman again. Biting her lip, with a lump in her throat, she turned and looked away. Eggman grumbled in frustration.

"Very well then," Eggman said starting the machine. "I'll leave you two to say goodbye." He was interrupted by a loud bleeping on the console. Moving much faster than a man of his girth could possibly move, he ran to check it, grinning as he read the screen. "Ohohoho. Good news, Hikari; I don't have to interrogate you anymore."

With that he gleefully exited the room with his mechs, leaving Hikari to watch the machine whir as it roboticized Renji, tears streaming down her face.

-*G:S1*-

 _Spring Yard_

As she climbed up a small building to finish setting up the trap, Reiko couldn't help but wonder about Sonic. Not in the romantic sense of the word, Reiko couldn't be less interested in that sort of thing, but more about...how he could be so...relaxed. It had been two days since they started and truth be told, that was too long for her.

But she trusted him. That was certain.

The trap was simple enough. The park was surrounded by several arcades and betting shops keeping in theme with the casino nature of the town, and had only two entrances, one of them had already been barricaded in Eggman's conquest of the island. Sonic would lead the robots into the park where Reiko would detonate a watchtower onto the path using some spare dynamite they had found on the way.

"...And that's number four," Reiko said, connecting the final wire to the detonator. "It's a good thing Eggman's bombs are so easy to work, otherwise that woulda been kinda dangerous." She turned and looked over the nearby streets. "Now for Sonic."

-*G:S1*-

The SWATbots and Spikes patrolled the streets. They had just finished rounding up some stragglers into a convoy and were heading for a site to be picked up by Eggman's ship; the _Flying Battery_. Coupled with the Chaos Emerald in the convoy and the lack of any hedgehogs, it had been a pretty trouble-free day.

The lead SWATbot held up its silver armoured hand, stopping the convoy. Some whimpers could be heard from the convoy cage, but the lead 'bot could tell something was amiss.

Suddenly from the rooftops the blue blur came crashing down on the head of a SWATbot. The others all fumbled around, shooting with their wrist mounted lasers as the hedgehog bounded and sped around them, smashing a few of them to pieces before standing on a small green post, looking at them, wriggling his butt mockingly.

"See ya!" he grinned before speeding off.

"-Bzzt- After him!" the lead SWATbot ordered.


	10. 9) Escaping the Spring Yard

**A/N:** You have no _idea_ how hard the Egg Mobile-S was to adapt.

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Sonic the Hedgehog_ and all properties belong to SEGA. I only own Reiko and her parents, and the extended lore of the Chaos Emeralds since that's mostly up for interpretation anyway. Please support the official release.

 **Arc 03:** Spring Yard

 **Chapter 09:** Escaping the Spring Yard

Sonic dashed through the city streets, always slowing down to allow the Badniks to catch up. Thankfully the plan had worked and the prison was being transported by three more SWATbots. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the prisoners, being dragged and thrown around like that.

He rounded a corner as the SWATbots fired on him, narrowly avoiding the lasers that were being fired relentlessly. Sonic looked behind to see around six blue ball robots pursuing him closely. No doubt Eggman was trying to copy Sonic's speed again. The ball-bots, Rollers as Sonic named them, tried to ram into him. He leaped over one, sending it sailing into another, the explosion catching another by surprise. The SWATbots and Spikes continued after him, but Sonic merely chuckled.

"You're making this _way_ too easy!" He quickly dodged a set of spikes fired by the Spikes robots. "Seriously, who taught you guys to shoot?"

Sonic rounded a corner, the convoy following, prisoners being rattled around everywhere. He looked at the rooftops and spotted Reiko as she began to leap over them. He prayed that she would get there in time. Sonic ducked under a Roller that had powered up a makeshift ramp. It landed with a thud and rattled around. Sonic quickly jumped on it, releasing the animal inside. It scurried away from the path of the other Badniks.

Sonic sped down the street, seeing the park up ahead. He glanced at Reiko, who was in place with the detonator. Chuckling, he hopped onto a bench and smirked at the robots. The convoy pulled up as its leader stepped forward- a SWATbot with a red helmet.

"-Bzzt- There is nowhere to run to, hedgehog," it said in a monotone voice. "Surrender yourself to the Eggman Empire."

"I have a better idea," Sonic chuckled. "Yo! Reiko!"

On the rooftops Reiko activated the dynamite. The foundations of the watchtower shattered, wood flying everywhere. The makeshift structure fell slightly then toppled over on to the street in a tangled mess, crushing several SWATbots in the process. Reiko gasped in shock.

"Don't worry, SWATbots don't have animals in them!" Sonic yelled.

Reiko nodded slightly then jumped down to him. The leader pointed a laser at them. "Seize them!" It ordered.

"Split up!" they both said together.

The mechs fired on the pair of them as they went in opposite directions. Reiko hopped on to a bench, leaping to an overhanging ledge and clambering up. Ducking down she observed the scene; seven SWATbots and ten Spikes. She dashed off, jumping off the adjacent wall and landing on the shoulders of one of the SWATbots, and began to punch its head. She managed to get the SWATbot to fire on the Spikes in its confusion.

Sonic, who had been dealing with a two other Spikes, watched a SWATbot take aim at her. He rushed over, jumped and kicked the SWATbot before jumping on its head. Sonic then whipped round, running at full speed and rolling into the last three Spikes and then straight into the legs of the SWATbot Reiko was beating. It toppled, Reiko rolling to the side.

"Sorry!" Sonic apologized, stamping on the SWATbots head. "Four more left. Two apiece?"

Reiko nodded, focusing on her two. Evidently they were resilient, but judging by the fact that their aim was virtually non-existent, they probably weren't as threatening as they looked. Heh, they were probably pretty dumb too. The two fired at her as she ran to them. As she got closer, the one on the left brought its laser arm down on her. She quickly grabbed it, watching the barrel of the weapon light up. On instinct she pushed it up, causing the SWATbot the shoot the second one, which shot its assailant on instinct.

"Two down!" she shouted. "I'll get the prisoners."

"Sounds like a plan!" Sonic shouted back, literally running rings around the last two SWATbots, launching into one and then careening into the other. He dashed to the prisoners as Reiko made it to them. "I thought you said you had these?"

"We can't all move at 75 miles per hour," she chuckled, unlocking the door.

The prisoners slowly and timidly got out of the metal jail cart and began to thank Sonic and Reiko. While Reiko talked with the prisoners Sonic looked in the cart. At the very back, in a small glass case was a glowing silver Chaos Emerald. He grinned and punched the glass, breaking it. He picked it up, feeling the smooth, weightless gemstone in his hand.

 _Danger...escape!_

Sonic blinked as those two words whispered in the back of his mind, making him worry. Reiko popped her head round the doorway.

"You got the Chaos Emerald?" she asked.

Sonic nodded. "I think we need to be making tracks and fast."

Reiko frowned, confused. "Why?"

"Call it a hunch, but I think Eggman knows we're here and he's on his way."

The chinchilla nodded as Sonic left the cart. He walked to the escapees, a mixture of wolves, cats, birds, crocodiles and foxes. One of them, an elderly woman, stepped forward. "W-what do we do now?"

Sonic looked at Reiko. "What's the quickest route out?"

"The bridge," she said. "Once we're across there's nothing but forest and fields until Star Light City."

"And it doesn't sound like a place to get stuck on. Come on."

"And now you've probably jinxed us," Reiko sighed, helping the prisoners over Eggman's barricades.

-*G: S1*-

The bridge was a mixture of stone and metal, covered with neon lights and those random greeny-blue blocks on the sides. The burnt shells of cars littered the way and small, destroyed barricades were stationed periodically along the bridge. The group had made it to the bridge with relative ease, too much ease now that Sonic thought about it. And now he just wished to get these people out of the city as fast as he could.

They quickly began to cross, Sonic running ahead with the faster adults and the children while Reiko helped the few elder prisoners across. The area was deathly quiet and there was a fearful atmosphere hanging over them.

"Sonic, I don't like this," Reiko said, helping a man over some barricades.

"Keep calm, we're nearly halfway."

"And _that_ is as far as you will get!" came the voice they had been dreading.

In his Egg Mobile, now equipped with two spike launchers, Dr Eggman descended, grinning maliciously.

"I see you've been busy, rodent," he said.

"It keeps me in shape," Sonic chuckled, urging the frightened escapees to keep going. "Unlike the sitting around in floating eggs you do."

The mad scientist frowned. "Regardless, your little adventure ends here."

 **(Fight and Away- KH 1.5 OST)**

 **Egg Mobile-S**

Eggman immediately went on the offensive, strafing the ground with spikes. Sonic quickly moved the people he was escorting out of the way as the spikes exploded violently, leaving large holes in the bridge. Eggman swerved the pod round and aimed at Reiko and the elderly.

"Y-you wouldn't dare!" Reiko yelled, standing in front of them in a vain attempt at stopping him.

"Oh, I think I would," Eggman said coldly.

Just then Sonic Spin Jumped into the machine as Eggman fired, sending the spikes all over. Bounding off and running along the edge of the bridge, Sonic rounded the group of elderly prisoners and jumped at Eggman again, sending the machine spinning round.

"Reiko, I'll keep him busy, go!"

Reiko nodded and helped the prisoners get across. Eggman regained control of the Egg Mobile and set his sights on Sonic.

"Fine. If you want to die first, I won't keep you waiting," he said, firing again.

Sonic jumped as the explosions demolished the part of the bridge he was standing on. He landed on Eggman's control console, making it spark a little, before jumping back to the ground.

"You need to do better than that, Eggy," Sonic chuckled.

Eggman growled and sent another volley. Sonic dodged down and they went careening into the bridge, narrowly avoiding Reiko and the prisoners.

"C'mon," she said helping up a male fox. "Nearly there."

"Thank goodness I'm nearly deaf, eh?" he chuckled.

Meanwhile, Sonic continued to run around, having to push further up the bridge to avoid falling. Another volley was launched, catching some of the cars and causing them to explode.

"Stand still so I can shoot you!" Eggman shouted, frustrated.

He launched another volley at the hedgehog, catching him in the edge of the resulting explosion. Sonic slowly stood up, arm burned and bleeding a little. Eggman laughed triumphantly. "Not so tough now, Sonic!"

Sonic chuckled a little. "Yeah. Got hit once out of how many attacks?"

Eggman fumed. "We'll see how cocky you are when I'm scraping you off the road."

He moved in again, strafing the ground. Sonic ran at full pelt and jumped, narrowly missing the shot. He collided with the Egg Mobile, making a large dent in the front of it. Sonic shimmied around the side while Eggman tried to shake him off. Wincing at the pain in his arm he reached up and managed to break one of the launchers. He couldn't help wonder how such a powerful looking machine could be so flimsy.

"Stop breaking my machines!" Eggman shouted, lunging for him. Sonic ducked, then jumped on to Eggman's head, leaving spines in it. "Hey!"

"Sorry, Eggy," Sonic grinned, dislodging the second launcher before jumping off and striking a victory pose. "And that's three-nil to me!"

"This isn't over..." Eggman growled. "I _will_ have the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic. Mark my words!"

With that Eggman flew his smoking Egg Mobile away, leaving the injured Sonic to cross the bridge.

"Sonic!" Reiko shouted, coming back from help the prisoners hide. "Are you..." She spied his arm. "Oh, my word, you're hurt!"

"It's nothing," Sonic said, flexing the injured arm and wincing. "Ok...maybe not."

"There's a doctor's building on the way out, maybe we can fix it up."

Sonic nodded and together they exited the city.

* * *

 **Bestiary:-**

 **Roller:** Dr Eggman's fastest Badnik model at this point, Rollers are based on armadillos and, as such, usually spend their time rolling into enemies making them particularly frustrating on the steep slopes of the Spring Yard when you're running along, admiring the view and then, BONK! Roller to the face. Due to the colour scheme (when it's rolled it looks like Sonic's rolling attack) and speed based attack pattern this Badnik could be considered Eggman's first known attempt at building a mech that could copy Sonic's speed.

 **Egg Mobile-S:** The Egg Mobile-S. A simple, yet frustrating machine to those playing the Genesis game, the Egg Mobile-S had a single spike underneath and tore up the bridge you fought on. _This_ Egg Mobile-S was equipped with launchers that fired exploding spikes, since, when you're in a 3D space is hard to make a single spike threatening. A deceptively deadly machine, if Sonic wasn't fast enough, he'd end up in the pit below. Heck, even if you BEAT the thing Sonic could still end up in the pit below. Darn you, Eggman. Your genius is matched only by your malevolence!


	11. 10) A Brief Pause

**A/N:** Do I have anything to say? I believe I don't.

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Sonic the Hedgehog_ and all properties belong to SEGA. I only Reiko and her parents, and the extended lore of the Chaos Emeralds since that's mostly up for interpretation anyway. Please support the official release.

 **Arc 04 :** Labyrinth

 **Chapter 10:** A Brief Pause

 _ **Hills of South Island**_

"Ah! That stings!" Sonic protested.

"Oh, grow up you big baby," Reiko chuckled, pouring antiseptic on the wound on his arm.

"I'm fourteen!"

"And? You're only getting stitches. Not that I know what I'm doing."

"Oh, well that's _so_ comforting."

The pair of them had stopped off at a doctor's building to sort out Sonic's injured arm. Like many of the buildings in the Spring Yard, the doctor's building was abandoned and ransacked, most likely by people trying to escape in the chaos. It had taken a while to find what they needed and twice as long to find some sort of manual on what they needed to do.

"Why do they even _have_ manuals lying around?" Sonic asked as Reiko gave him a local anaesthetic.

"Maybe they need to check to make sure they're doing it right? Kinda makes you have little faith in them," Reiko replied. "I hope I did that right." She flicked his arm. "How's that?"

"Just peachy."

Though the anaesthetic wasn't perfect, the needle still stung a tad more than it should do, it didn't take long to finish stitching. Sonic flexed his arm a little. Aside from a dull numb pain that would fade after a while, it was fine.

"There we go," Reiko smiled.

"Finally," Sonic groaned, running out. "Let's go."

"Ah, hey, wait up!"

* * *

 _ **Later...**_

It was midday and the sun was high in the sky. Not that it helped the temperature; the hills were particularly chilly, not helped by the overcast sky. The pair had run/hiked from Spring Yard as fast as they could go, or rather as slow as Sonic was willing to go when Reiko fell behind.

The deeper into the hills they got the rockier the hills got too. Lush green grass gave way to small streams and limestone cliffs, making an altogether tranquil place, made more so by the tweeting birds. It clashed with the eerie smog that was coming from the Scrap Brain, which had gradually become uncomfortably close.

"You know," Sonic said, wrinkling his nose at the smog, "I liked it a lot better when we were in the forests." He looked at Reiko, who was sat on a rock, looking away from the metal city. "W-was it something I said?"

"What? No, no...just...my parents are in there. I didn't quite know how I'd feel when we got close. Now I just have this empty feeling."

Sonic sat down next to her, and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "If you're like your folks then they'll be fighters too. I promised I'd help save them and that's what we'll do."

Reiko nodded a little.

"We could go there now?" Sonic suggested. "I doubt Eggman would be expecting it."

The girl chuckled. "I don't think kamikaze-ing into Eggman's base will be such a good idea when there are two Chaos Emeralds out there."

"Whatever you say, Reiko," Sonic smiled, walking off.

After another half hour of running and destroying Badnik patrols the pair of them came across an ancient-looking pillar. Curious, Sonic went to investigate. The pillar was a minty-white colour, though had been eroded over time. Judging from the small ruins around it, it had been a part of a much bigger design. Engraved in the rock itself were several runic inscriptions.

"That's a stele!" Reiko exclaimed upon reading the runes.

"A what?"

"It's a marker, like a...a reminder that something is, or _was_ , here!" She brushed a hand over the runes. "I don't know what they mean but they definitely match the patterns Dad was studying!"

Sonic folded his arms, foot tapping impatiently. "Yeah, what do they mean?"

"Lemme think!" Reiko said, holding her head. "Dad was telling us one time that there was this _huge_ maze of temples under the island and this marker marks one of the entrances."

"Well, that's good to know I guess," Sonic said. "There might be a Chaos Emerald nearby."

"You don't seem that interested," Reiko pouted.

"Sorry," he shrugged apologetically. "Archaeology just isn't my thing."

Reiko begrudgingly accepted. As Sonic walked along he felt the ground sink a little. He looked down, stamping his foot. The ground sank more.

"Uh oh..."

Right on cue, the ground beneath him gave way, sending Sonic crashing down to the ground underneath. Reiko ran to the hole. "Sonic! Are you ok?"

"Just peachy, Reiko," Sonic replied dryly.

He picked himself up, rubbing his head a little. "Ouch."

Gathering his senses he looked around. The first thing he heard was a rush of water. Around him were huge citadels and pathways made of cream coloured bricks and stone. Vines and plants dangled down from the ground above as the water eroded away and flooded some sections of the underground citadels. Oh, joy.

"Your dad was right about that maze," Sonic shouted, voice echoing.

"Hang on, I'm coming...Dammit!"

"What?"

On the surface Reiko ducked in the long wet grass. Several Badniks went past, looking like moles and floating orbs. When they were out of earshot she peeked over the hole.

"Sonic, there are too many Badniks around here," she said, evidently panicking. "A-and I don't know how to get you out!"

"Reiko, calm down," Sonic said. "Listen, is there anywhere we can meet up again?"

"S-Star Light city is the closest place here that isn't Scrap Brain. Why?"

"We're gonna have to meet there." The fear on Reiko's face was plain to see. Sonic continued. "I'm sorry, but I'm not risking your life down here. Get to that city, find somewhere safe and hide. I'll meet you there."

Reiko was quiet. Her head disappeared over the hole and he heard a quiet sob. Then she spoke "A-Alright."

"You can do this, Reiko, I know you can."

Reiko nodded. "S-see you soon then."

"You too."

 **(Hoenn Dive Theme- GlitchxCity)**

With that Reiko ran off, leaving Sonic underground. "Stupid water, why'd it have to be water?" he muttered.

Sonic proceeded down the stone pathways, running at full speed. Rounding a corner he spotted three Badniks. They were blue with thin silver arms and yellow armour on their heads and shoulders. The Badniks had drills for noses and truddled around on caterpiller tracks, presumably because of the environment. When they spotted him they made a bid to get him.

Sonic braced himself, but then stopped. The tracks, while durable, made the robots slow. He gave a thankful chuckle and hopped on them, destroying them before continuing onwards.

As he continued he realized that the Badniks were not the problem. Not only was the water deep and seemingly bottomless, the old citadels still had functioning traps ranging from spears to spiked balls that came crashing down.

" _YOW!_ " Sonic yelled, ducking under another spear as he took some steps down. "Jeez, for an old civilization they sure know how to make a place safe."

He shook his head and continued down the steps, grinding to a halt when he reached the bottom.

"Ugh..." he groaned, looking into the pool of water at the bottom. "I hate water."

Having no choice but go in it, Sonic slow stepped in to the shallows before diving under the murky water. Submerged, Sonic could see the beauty that this labyrinth would have had in its prime. Statues, albeit covered in algae, stood strong in the maze of tunnels encrusted with rubies and sapphires and old ornaments littered the ground of the citadel.

Sonic swam, awkwardly, through the water trying to avoid some pink shark-like robots that kept nipping at him. He had to kick them to destroy them, releasing small seals into the water. He came to what looked like an old staircase, crumbled due to the water. Taking air from a nearby bubble he slowly climbed the crumbling structure.

' _I need swimming lessons_ ,' he thought, avoiding a falling brick.

He found a broken balcony and climbed on it, immediately getting sucked along a current down a corridor. He tumbled about, hitting his body on any loose object until he came out into another room. Hurrying for another bubble he spotted a huge thick steel pipe with oil running through it.

' _That doesn't look right_.'

The pipe went through the roof, literally. On closer inspection there seemed to be a gap in the roof and a hatch. Sonic tried to move it to no avail. Deducing he need a switch to open it he headed back to the air bubbles, took a breath, and began to press the walls for a switch, finding one in a piece of indented stone. The door in the roof slid open and Sonic made a mad dash for it, coming to the surface of the water.

"Finally!" Sonic said with a deep breath, swimming (kinda) to the edge and pulling himself up, finding himself in a cavernous city. Light filtered through the cracks in the ceiling creating a beautiful shimmer on the building as the light reflected off the water.

"Guess this is going to take longer than I expected," Sonic chuckled, running through the city.

 **(End Hoenn Dive Theme)**

* * *

 _ **Surface**_

Reiko had managed to make it to the estate farthest from Star Light as the sun began to set. The streets were empty and looked like a warzone. It was lit by the street lamps that weren't destroyed showing empty houses, robot parts and barricades. Adding to the despair was the eerie silence.

Nothing was here. Not anymore.

She took a deep breath and began to walk to her apartment in the centre, keeping to the shadows and the alleys. As she walked down a back alley between two streets she noticed something pasted on the side of a house. Upon closer inspection she saw it was two wanted posters, images taken from the CCTV cameras in Spring Yard; one of Sonic and one of Reiko.

"'Wanted: two fugitives threatening the Eggman Empire'," she read aloud. "'Hedgehog, Sonic, wanted dead or alive, open brackets, preferably dead, close brackets. Chinchilla, Reiko, wanted alive. Extra reward for the...pendant'?"

She looked at the pendant her dad gave her. It shone a brilliant red in the darkness.

"What are you?"

* * *

 _ **Bestiary**_

 **Burrobot-** An excavator robot with drills for nose. Based on the European mole they're primarily used for labour, but use burrowing based attacks. Their job at the moment is to excavate the caverns for underground labs. The Burrobot model itself has only been used three times by Dr Eggman; _Sonic 1_ , _Sonic 4_ and _Sonic: Lost World_. However, it has had at least three successors; Grounder, Mad Mole and Mole (such an ingenious name).

 **Jaws-** A shark based robot that attacks by biting. It moves using an air venting system on its tail. They currently guard the passageways of Eggman's mining operations. Like Burrobot, it has only appeared in two other games; _Sonic 4_ and _Lost World_.


	12. 11) Deep Breath

**A/N:** The chapter title is totally not a reference to _Doctor Who_. The chapter is also totally not a reference to the Assassin Tombs in _Assassin's Creed_.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Sonic the Hedgehog_ and all properties belong to SEGA. I only own Reiko and her parents, and the extended lore of the Chaos Emeralds since that's mostly up for interpretation anyway. Please support the official release.

 **Arc 04:** Labyrinth

 **Chapter 11:** Deep Breath

 _ **Labyrinth**_

Sonic ran down the old stone pathways. He couldn't help but wonder why the Old Civilization needed an underground city, particularly one of such size and grandeur. In fact the ruins reminded him of the Marble Ruins he and Reiko travelled through a few days earlier.

"These sure did get around," he said to himself, admiring some old statues of what appeared to be ancient emperors.

He continued along the paths, avoiding the water at all costs. However, as he progressed further, most of the ruins were destroyed and crumbling, creating blockades and forcing Sonic to descend deeper into the ruins and closer to the water.

He eventually found himself in the smaller alleyways of the old city, pondering whether or not a Chaos Emerald would be around here.

"If a they hid an Emerald in a place like this..." he said, eyes slowly drifting to a large cathedral in the centre of the ruins "They'd have a big marker for it!"

He chuckled and set off at supersonic speed, blasting through old buildings and more Burrobots. Sonic also found opposition in the form of strange blue orb robots that fired off spiked red balls, specifically five.

Jumping on one, sending the animal inside scurrying away, he chuckled at the remaining Badniks. "You know, you guys have to be the weirdest looking robots I've seen yet." He jumped over a spiked ball, rolling into the offending mech. "I mean, seriously, what keeps these things in place? Magic?" He ducked between two other mechs, making them destroy each other with their weapons before rolling into the last one.

Wiping some sweat off his brow, he continued onwards finding more of the large steel pipes from his time in the catacombs embedded in the walls, some of them leaking oil.

"These must go to Scrap Brain," he mused, spying some that went into the floor. "But _those_ definitely don't. Eggman must have something down here...but what?"

His thoughts were broken by a large explosion coming from the cathedral. Quick as a flash, he headed for it, destroying as many Badniks as he could. Seeing the door that was already open he slowly entered. The cathedral was dilapidated, having holes in the roof and the internal structure partially collapsed. In one of the side walls was a large hole that looked like it had been blasted through. On the floor in the rubble were several runes and symbols like the ones in the Marble Ruins and Green Hill.

"Eggman must have found out where the Chaos Emerald is," Sonic said, stepping through the hole.

As he delved further into the corridor the dim light began to fade. On the walls Sonic saw old torches and, on the floor, small laps that were to, presumably, guide any of the Badniks back the way they came. The tunnel looked older than the rest of the Labyrinth, being carved into the ground then built coherently. The only sound was the dripping of the water.

Sonic treaded carefully, out of necessity. He saw holes and openings which housed spikes, as he discovered when he stepped on a pressure pad and the spike shot out, narrowly missing his face. There were also stone bear heads that periodically shot out fireballs.

Sonic eventually came to a set of stairs that had been flooded. Admittedly he had doubted that it would be perfectly dry. Spying some lights in the tunnel Sonic slowly headed through the water, steadily making his through the tunnel, grimacing as he submerged himself.

' _I hope this doesn't become a regular thing..._ ' he grumbled internally.

The tunnels were full of old, rotten wooden scaffolding and plant life. Old carts were left abandoned and covered in algae, which small fish hid inside. Ducking under a spiked pendulum he grabbed a small air bubble and clambered over crumbling structures. He eventually surfaced in a small chamber, climbing out, shivering a little.

"Jeez, it's freezing down here!" he gasped as the cold hit him like a brick. He shook himself to dry off, pouring the water out of his waterlogged shoes then powering off.

A tall corridor was attached to the chamber with several ruined archways along it, as well as more ruined scaffolding. The remains of an old staircase hang from the top of the corridor, leaving Sonic to make his way up the arches and scaffolds.

"Sheesh...how the heck does Reiko do this?" Sonic muttered as he managed to leap to a particularly awkward beam, running along the scaffolding, jumping to of the staircase, and continuing onwards.

The corridor eventually led out into a regal but ruined circular chamber, along with...

"Eggman!"

The mad scientist, hovering in an unarmed Egg Mobile, turned around slightly. In his hand was a yellow Chaos Emerald. "Sonic, what a pleasant surprise."

"Hand over the Emerald!"

Eggman twirled his moustache, thinking. "No, I don't think I will. I need the Chaos Emeralds for a project of mine. And I need you out of my way."

He held up a detonator. Sonic's eyes widened in shock as he looked around; above them were several packs of dynamite.

"Goodbye, Sonic," Eggman laughed, detonating the dynamite and heading up in his Egg Mobile, a windshield covering him.

Sonic, determined, powered along the staircase that ran along the side of the wall. The water was crashing down, destroying parts of it as he sped along. Thankfully there were no Badniks but Eggman's attack had triggered an old defence system. Moving up the stairway Sonic could see several bear heads and spikes burst out of the wall, forcing him to duck and jump nimbly around them. He looked down, seeing the rising water ascend ominously.

"Damn," he muttered, just missing a spiked pendulum.

He jumped across to the other side, grabbing the edge of a platform that jutted out and pulling himself up quickly. He briefly looked down to see the water closing in. Wasting no time, he dashed along the stairs, higher and higher.

Eggman was around halfway up the chamber, confident that he could escape...until large chunks of rock began to fall onto him. Swiftly moving out of the way Eggman was forced to slow down a little. Sonic saw this and, hopping along some horizontal beams, powered his way up.

The water was right on top of him now and he was barely keeping out of its reach. The plummeting torrents had destroyed parts of the stairway, forcing him to carefully jump along them. This, however, put him on the same level as Eggman. He leaped and grabbed hold of the Egg Mobile, shattered the windshield.

"Get off, rodent!" Eggman growled trying to shake him off.

"How many of these things do you have?" Sonic laughed, grabbing the Emerald. "I destroyed one of these, like, eight hours ago!"

Before Eggman could do anything, Sonic jumped off onto a nearby platform. Despite wanting to fight him, Eggman couldn't; the water was brushing against his Egg Mobile.

"This isn't over!" he yelled, flying upwards as quick as he could.

"Yeah, yeah," Sonic chuckled.

He noticed a small tunnel in the wall and decided to head down it to try and find a way out, only to discover the tunnel ended up going up vertically.

"Uh oh..." he said, hearing the roar of the water power towards him, pushing him upwards.

* * *

 _ **?**_

The water burst out of the ground, sending Sonic and the Chaos Emerald up into the air and crashing down onto the floor. The geyser quickly subsided, leaving Sonic to shake himself dry.

"Pewie! It stinks!" Sonic spluttered, holding his nose to keep out the stench around him.

The geyser had left him in a series of sewers. Nearby was a metal ladder, leading to a grate. Sonic quickly climbing up, taking care to not drop the Chaos Emerald. Pushing the grate up, he climbed out and found himself in a tall, beautiful, almost modern city.

Stone brick flats rose out of the ground like giants, intersected by dark green metal highways. The sky was lit by the stars, illuminating the city. In contrast, the streets were the remains of a warzone, with destroyed SWATbots, cars, rubble and general wreckage all around. Posters of himself and Reiko had been posted all over. Beside him was a damaged and dented sign reading 'Star Light City'.

Sonic looked at highway slip road. "Right..." he said slowly. "Now to meet up with Reiko."

He picked up a small bag and put the Emerald inside before dashing up the highway.

* * *

 _ **Scrap Brain**_

The alarms blared as lights flashed the steel room a dark, threatening red. A computer voice was listing out warning procedures as the SWATbots positioned themselves in the corridor. A steel door burst open, followed by laser fire that obliterated the machines. The escapee dashed through the chaos, holding his head.

He was almost there.

If Hikari hadn't managed to sabotage the machine he wouldn't be here. He couldn't waste his chance. If he could just keep his programming at bay long enough...

The escapee kicked the exit door down with his new metal foot. The rained poured down outside, creating puddles on the ground, where the man caught a glimpse of himself. His left leg had been replaced with one of steel and gears, his left hand cybernetic whilst the entirety of his right arm and shoulder had become metal. And his face. The right half of his face was like a metal helmet had been fused to his face, his right eye a simple red light.

No, he couldn't think of that.

"Need...to find...Reiko..." Renji groaned, voice turning robotic. Against his will his right hand became a laser. He spoke, straining against his programming "I...won't... terminate targets!"

Looking at the nearby Star Light City, Renji headed there, fighting his programming with every step.

* * *

 _ **Bestiary:-**_

 **Unidasu:** Part of the line of Badniks commonly known as 'Orbinauts', the Unidasu was the first and simplest of these. Its cousin was the green coloured Uni Uni. It lingered in the catacombs of Labyrinth Zone as a sort of guard dog, usually in awkward underwater sections near air bubbles. Its main and only defence were four spiked orbs held in place by a primitive anti-gravity system, which it fired off when an enemy came close. The only problem was that it would end up defenceless after. Bit of a stupid design fault really.


	13. 12) Home

**A/N:** Since we've had two chapters around Sonic, we're going to spend time with Reiko now. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Sonic the Hedgehog_ and all properties belong to SEGA. I only own Reiko and her parents, and the extended lore of the Chaos Emeralds since that's mostly up for interpretation anyway. Please support the official release.

 **Arc 05:** Star Light

 **Chapter 12:** Home

 _ **Star Light City**_

Reiko had spent the best part of the late evening and early night sneaking through the estates. There were a few near misses, including one shortly after the wanted posters where she'd spent half an hour in a bin just to be sure there weren't any Badniks around and another when she'd brushed into the industrial estate near the city centre by accident.

Now she was walking down an empty highway into the city. Buildings, ranging from small shops to big warehouses, lined the sides of the road. The only sounds in the darkness were her own footsteps and the sound of creaking metal from the tangled messes of vehicles, signs and robots dotted around the road. The constant creaking didn't do much to put her mind at ease, only increasing the paranoia that coursed through it.

She paused, hearing smashing from behind her. She whipped round, gasping when she saw a SWATbot. Thankfully it was heavily damaged; the visor was smashed, leaving it blind, it's left arm missing and, judging by the fact it hadn't fired at her yet, its laser didn't work.

Since the SWATbot wasn't able to see her, Reiko moved to the side and let it pass. She picked up an iron rod and smashed it across the head. It collapsed, dead.

Reiko sighed and continued on. She felt like a sitting duck out here. And carrying three Chaos Emeralds made her feel more exposed. Hopefully Eggman thought Sonic had them.

Why had she not insisted she went with him?

She sighed, entering the downtown area. Star Light City was the most modern city on the island. This wasn't to say that it was as big as cities in the United Federation, nor as polluting. It was also nowhere as advanced as Monopole either.

Most of the buildings here were red brick apartments and various small shops. Trees and plant life were commonplace in the city, primarily to make up for the land lost during the city's development, and streetlights buzzed in the darkness. All the power was generated using eco-friendly techniques, mainly hydroelectricity and biogas from waste making the city self-sufficient.

"I guess downtown was let off lightly," Reiko said quietly. Her stomach rumbled. "Ugh...when was the last time I ate? Probably before Sonic arrived..."

After wandering around for a while she came across an abandoned corner shop. Looking round to make sure no one, and more importantly no Badniks, were around she kicked in the window and climbed in. To her dismay the shop had been trashed, looted during the initial attack on the city. The shelves were knocked over, bottles smashed and bars of chocolate, bags of crisps and sandwiches littered the floor.

"How did it come to this," Reiko chuckled sadly, scavenging the floor and scoffing down an unopened tuna sandwich.

Honestly, dry bread and processed fish had never tasted so good.

Suddenly her ears perked up. Although she couldn't see out of the window she could hear the pounding footsteps of a SWATbot and, though it was one set of footsteps, she'd learned that SWATbots usually led patrols.

"Damn it," she hissed, scurrying behind the counter.

Outside the SWATbot continued its march. Behind it were six Uni-Uni Badniks floating off the ground. The SWATbot marched on with rigid determination, observant of any sort of detail new to its route.

"Halt!" it ordered, spying a smashed window that wasn't there on its previous loop.

The SWATbot scanned the broken glass, its advanced vision allowing it to see minute details not available to organic things like his master, such as the footprint on the shards. Scanning each bit and then piecing it together the SWATbot could see the footprint had traces of marble and granite in it and, judging from the size of it, belonged to a young teenager. Silently, the SWATbot motioned the Uni-Uni into the building.

Reiko held her breath as one of the orb robots floated past her. She tucked herself into a corner, hoping to stay hidden. One of the orbs passed closer to her. She felt her heart thud rapidly in her chest.

She peeked round the corner, trying to find a way out. She saw the opened door to the flat upstairs at the back of the room. If she could reach there she could escape to the lower rooftops above. She picked up a nearby can of beans and threw it over the counter.

It clanged on the floor loudly.

Outside, the SWATbot's head swivelled to the source of the noise.

"Initiating thorough scan," it announced.

Reiko watched as red beam scanned the area around where the tin can had landed. It was surrounded by the green orb robots, who were curious more than anything else. She took a chance and crawled along the floor quietly.

"Conclusion: object thrown," the SWATbot said. "Determining trajectory..."

' _Damn, damn, damn..._ ' Reiko cursed internally. ' _Just a little farther_ '

She slowly reached for the bottom of the door, blood running cold as the red beam washed over her legs.

"Unknown subject...scanning..."

Reiko bit her lip, a flurry of emotions rushed through her head. Frightened, confused, worry, anger. She closed her eyes and swallowed.

"Subject identified...Reiko Tanaka...fugitive..."

She closed her eyes and swallowed.

"Solution..."

Reiko remembered her parents. She wouldn't fail them now. She looked at the wooden shelving unit blocking her body.

"...Terminate!"

"Get stuffed!" Reiko shouted, pushing the unit down and rushing through the door. She shut it, putting the latch on quickly. "Longest five minutes of my life" She muttered as the thundered up the stairs.

She ran to the landing, looking at the three rooms available; living room, kitchen, bedroom. The SWATbot could be heard trying to force the door off.

"Eenie..." **CRASH** **!** "That one."

She ran to the bedroom and smashed the window, just as the Uni-Uni swerved into the doorway. Taking a chance she jumped out. Thankfully the roof wasn't too far down and landed, using the momentum to roll into a standing position and taking off at a sprint, the Badniks (bar the SWATbot) in pursuit.

"Right..." she said to herself. "Home."

Adrenaline coursed through her body as she leaped across the rooftops. Scanning the city skyline she found a small sliproad going above the apartments. Vaulting over several power boxes she powered to the road and hopped off the barrier, stumbling on to the tarmac.

The Uni-Uni were quick to take advantage of this and surrounded her, spiked balls spinning menacingly. Reiko grit her teeth.

"I've had a bad set of days, guys," she said through heavy breaths, fear still pumping through her. "But that doesn't mean I won't fight you."

The Uni-Uni didn't move. Reiko slowly moved out of the circle, but the Uni-Uni all moved in on her. She stopped. So did the Badniks.

"You won't attack..." she said slowly. "Or..." she looked at them all. "You _can't_ attack cos you're not programmed to."

She side stepped. The Uni-Uni followed like a moving cage.

Reiko folded her arms and sighed. "Alright. If you're gonna be like that."

Running on survival instincts she leaped and kicked one, destroying it. The remaining Badniks were stunned, leaving the nearest ones fumbling to defend themselves. Reiko spun round and went for the one on her left, using tricks on momentum and agility she'd learned as a freerunner rather than combat skills from Sonic, punching it hard and smashing it.

The Uni-Uni were beginning to back up a little, unsure of what to do. Reiko came at them again, somersaulting off an abandoned car and destroying another, only to catch one of the spiked orbs in her arm. It fell out, leaving a small gash on it.

"Ow..." she hissed, looking at the three retreating Badniks.

She took a deep sigh of relief, laughing a little. It was amazing what you could do when fear takes over.

"Right. Home iiiiis..." she said, looking round. "That way."

She began walking down the sliproad, heading eastwards. Now that she had calmed down she realized her body was aching all over. How did Sonic do this sort of thing?

* * *

The door to the apartment creaked open as Reiko stepped in. She flicked a switch, squinting as the bright light lit up the stairs in the hall. All around were the remains of explosion and bullet holes in the wall. Dried blood was in place on the wall and floor, but there were no bodies; they'd either escaped or Eggman was decent enough to move them for whatever reason.

She climbed the stairs, cautious of anything that might be in the homes. Reaching the third floor, she was surprised to see her front door open and the hallway light on. She gulped, and walked in slowly.

"Hello?" she shouted, immediately annoyed at herself for giving herself away. She jumped as a loud clatter was followed by someone running on the first floor. "Geez, this night couldn't get any worse," She muttered.

Quickly, and sloppily, bandaging her wound she went upstairs, a little more confident than when she arrived in the city. From the looks of things whatever it was had moved from the bathroom to the unlit bedroom of her parents. The top step creaked as she reached the top.

She bit her lip, mentally swearing.

"Hello?" came a voice that she instantly recognized.

"Dad?!" she exclaimed happily, running into her parents' room.

"No, d-don't switch it on!" her dad shouted as she reached for the light switched. "Don't come any closer either."

Something was wrong. He seemed scared, in pain, and his voice sounded like it was being run through a dodgy auto-tuner. She stayed by the doorway. "Dad...what's wrong?"

"Listen, there's no time," Renji said through pained breaths. "Dr Robotnik...Eggman, is working on something, a space station of some kind. But he needs the Chaos Emeralds to get it to full power."

The sound of a lamp smashing made Reiko jump. She saw the shadow of her father silhouetted against the night sky. Something was wrong. Parts of him looked armoured and he had bright red light where is right eye should be.

"D-Dad?" she said slowly, back up a little.

"Listen!" he shouted. "Scrap Brain is a factory for building it. You _need_ to destroy it."

Then he screamed. A horrible, piercing scream that made the fur on the back of Reiko's neck stand on end. She switched the light, shocked and stunned by what she saw.

Her dad looked at her, ashamed of himself. Now she understood why he wanted the light off. Who would want their daughter to see their dad a cyborg. Renji swallowed.

"Do you still have the pendant I gave you?" he asked slowly, almost fighting something.

"Yeah, but I don't-"

Renji's left eye widened. He grabbed his head in pain. "No! No, no, no, no I won't...!"

Reiko took a step closer, but Renji held his hand up. "Reiko, run! I'm a _thing_ , I'll kill you!"

"I'm not leaving, I've gone across the entire island to help you, and I'm not leaving you here!"

"Reiko, you don't understand. Eggman roboticized me, turned me into a soldier for him. But the thought of you and your mother let me keep part of my free will..." he collapsed a little, continuing through a strained voice. "But the programming is wanting me to kill you, it can pick Chaos energy on you!"

Reiko put a hand on the bag with the Emeralds in. Renji nodded. "Run!"

Not even questioning, Reiko fled the room, heading for the stairs to the bottom of the apartment. As she reached the landing of the second floor she head a laser blast from the house, followed by her dad's voice.

"Con-trol ass-sert-ed, program-ming restored, weaponry functional, objective; retrieve Chaos Emeralds!"

Reiko bolted from the apartment and headed deeper into the city, tears streaming down her face.

* * *

 _ **Bestiary:-**_

 **Uni-Uni:** Cousins of the Unidas Badniks but with a different programme, they retained the same look, only being green and yellow instead of red and blue. The main difference was the way Uni-Uni attacked, or rather, didn't. Unlike Unidas, Uni-Uni normally took up post in narrow sections and remained there, spinning their orbs around to prevent passage without damage, making them a defensive variant (and an annoying one at that).


	14. 13) Reunion

**A/N:** Apologies for the lateness. Real life and all

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Sonic the Hedgehog_ and all properties belong to SEGA. I only own Reiko and her parents, and the extended lore of the Chaos Emeralds since that's mostly up for interpretation anyway. Please support the official release.

 **Arc:** Star Light

 **13:** Reunion

 _ **Star Light City**_

This place was amazing! The sheer wonder and beauty of it was magical, there was nothing like it anywhere else in the world. But he couldn't admire it for long. He had to find Reiko. Sonic had spent most of the last couple of hours circling the highways. Sonic had to admit, it was almost as though they were built for speed and Sonic, for all the danger he and Reiko were currently in, couldn't help rolling down the slopes and smashing any unfortunate Badnik that happened to fall under his spines.

Even so...Reiko was nowhere to be seen and the more Sonic thought against the idea of Reiko heading deeper into the city, purely due to the stupidity of it, the more he couldn't help but think that's where she'd be.

Finally he stopped, sighing. "I really hope these broken Badniks are a recurring theme here."

Taking an uneasy look at the smog-filled sky over the shadow of Scrap Brain, Sonic sped into the city. Keeping an eye out for Reiko, Sonic thought about what had happened over the last three days.

"Three days?" he asked himself, stunned at how short a time he'd spent on South Island. "Is that all? Geez..."

Eggman had headed to South Island in search of the Chaos Emeralds. He had possession of one while Reiko had possession of the other three they had found, a decision that Sonic was starting to regret. If she'd been spotted with them she was effectively a massive target for that madman. He pulled out the yellow Chaos Emerald he'd stolen from Eggman.

"If it comes to it, I could always use you to bargain Reiko's release," Sonic sighed, waiting for the usual cryptic voice whenever an Emerald was around him. "Oh, _now_ you don't say anything!" He leaped over the burned shell of a car, stopping at a crossroad. "Still, there's something missing from all this."

Sonic examined the Chaos Emerald, then deciding to head up to higher ground. He spotted a freeway running over much of the area he was in. Maybe he could find Reiko from there. With a quick couple of jumps and vault, Sonic began speeding around the winding road, thinking more about Eggman's plan.

Sonic was glad, in a way, that he and Reiko had more Emeralds. But he couldn't help having a niggling feeling at the back of his mind that he _was_ missing something. Eggman would never mine for the sake of it, it was always for something that would benefit him; oil, gas, metal. He'd even stage robberies to fund his plans for 'Eggmanland', as he called his pet project.

"Haha, 'Eggmanland'," he chuckled.

But what was it that these Chaos Emeralds could do for Eggman? He had heard the legends of them, vague rumours and, despite his lack of proper schooling (he would educate himself as he travelled) he was by no means as stupid as his carefree attitude made him out to be. He _knew_ that the Chaos Emeralds had a limitless amount of energy. He _knew_ that Eggman could harness that energy with... _something_.

But harness it for what?

"What are you after, Eggy?" he wondered aloud, staring at the hypnotic radiance of the Emerald. "What are you for?" The Emerald seemed to giggle softly in reply, a smug, mocking giggle. Sonic frowned "You're creepy, you know that, don't you?" He paused to look over the edge. Nothing. Just a bombed out corner shop. He shook his head, laughing a little. "Can't believe I'm talking to a freaking rock."

Said rock glowed brightly, blinding him. He dropped the Emerald to shield his eyes. It landed, rolling several feet away from him. Sonic blinked as bright lights covered his dazed vision. When it subsided he bitterly picked up the Emerald.

"I think I liked your friends better," he grumbled.

 _Sisters..._ the Emerald whispered slowly, groaning as if it was in pain.

"And I definitely liked _you_ when you were quiet."

 _Closer...pain...danger...closer..._

Sonic looked around instinctively. Nothing but broken flats, cars and Badniks all around. He certainly didn't feel in any danger. But the Emerald didn't quieten down. It got louder and louder, words overlapping, whisper close in his ear and shouting from the distance at the same time.

This wasn't something he could make jokes about.

"Man, how do I shut you up?!" he shouted, mostly out of tiredness than anger. "What? Do I...do I have to _sing_ to you, is that it? Ok, ok!" He coughed, ignoring the Emeralds shouting. "Blue streak, speeds by; that is me!" he sang. "Too fast, for the naked eye! That is still me, oh, yeah! Sonic! Which is me! _Sonic!_ "

He looked at the Emerald. It had stopped.

"Huh. Can't believe that actually worked!"

Then he heard the blasts. They were quiet at first, but got louder as they got closer. It dawned on him that this was what the Emerald was shouting about. They were coming from the street below him. Hopping his way down a large pile of a rubble that used to be a nearby building he walked to a flame-charred intersection. Those lasers were getting even closer. He squinted, trying make something out in the darkness and flickering streetlights. It was a figure...it couldn't be...

"Reiko?!" he exclaimed, shocked and overjoyed.

" _Sonic! Help him!_ " she screamed, voice dry and heavy with a pained panting.

She fell into him, tears stains streaking down her face. Her breath was wheezing, staggered and her legs practically gave way immediately. She was blubbering and in hysterics. Sonic stood her up, lifting her face.

"What is it, Reiko?" I asked. "What happened?"

"He changed him..." she wept. "Oh, my God, he _changed_ him!"

"Who? Who did he change?"

"Please, Sonic! Please help him!" she gripped his arms, sobbing into his chest. "I can't...I can't do that to him! Please..."

"Who? Reiko, who did Eggman change?"

A laser blast flew past his ear. Sonic looked up at who fired, gasping a little. Half machine, clearly Eggman's doing, but part chinchilla.

"Oh, no..." Sonic gasped, stunned and appalled when he realized who it was.

Thinking quickly he scooped Reiko up, if only to ease the pain her feet were most likely in. He began dashing down the streets, taking as many back alleys and side streets as he could to put as much distance between him and Reiko's poor father.

It didn't work, Reiko's dad had some sort of jet booster built in and was now powering towards him, firing off laser blasts with his roboticized arm.

"Reiko, do you still have the Emeralds?" Sonic asked. Reiko didn't reply, her eyes fixed on her dad. "Reiko!"

"Y-Yeah, they're in my bag," she replied, voice quiet and small. "H-He didn't get them."

Reiko's dad fired a volley at a small brick bridge ahead of them, causing it to collapse. Reiko pointed to their right. "Down there!" she said, a little more composed. She still kept an eye on her dad.

"Hard right in two," she told Sonic.

"Gotcha," Sonic nodded, speeding past the first street corner and skidding around the second.

He dashed down a large residential street, Reiko's dad slamming into a house wall as he turned. Sonic sped up, pushing his limits as he followed Reiko's directions.

"Do you actually know where you're going?" Sonic asked after the twentieth turn.

"No," Reiko replied. "But I imagine my dad's engines run on fuel of some kind. If we waste it he won't be able to chase us. Then we deal with him."

"...Are you alright?"

"What do you think?" she snapped with a glare. "Take this slip road, we can use the ring road."

Sonic headed up, thinking of a way to try and knock out her dad's robot self. "Is there a...a CPU or something we can shut down."

"I don't know I've spent the last hour and half running _away_ from my crazy robot dad, I didn't get a look! And besides; my area's archaeology, not cybernetics!"

"Hey, I'm just asking!" Sonic shouted.

" _I know you're just asking!_ " Reiko shrieked, fresh tears coming down her face. "But that is my _dad_ that I'm trying to find a way to shut down the Badnik-side without damaging _him_."

Sonic looked behind him. The man's engines began to splutter, forcing him to land. Sonic screeched to a halt, putting Reiko down. Colour returned to the cyborg's organic eye and he stumbled.

"Where...? Oh, my...Reiko, I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, Daddy, you didn't," she replied, smiling sadly.

"What's your name?" Sonic asked. "And how do we stop robo-you?"

"My name is Renji...you're the one that's been protecting my daughter?" Renji smiled as best he could. "Thank you."

"Yeah, great, can we skip to the bit where we stop you from going all Dalek on us again?"

Renji nodded. "Uh...uh...you need to activate 'his' recovery mode. Once 'he's' in that state, 'he' can't activaaaaate!" he stumbled, falling.

Reiko moved to help him, but Sonic kept her back. Renji stood, shaking slightly.

"Let me guess, we need to beat robo-you into submission?" Sonic asked.

Renji nodded. Sonic nodded. "I'm sorry, man."

"As am I," Renji said, relinquishing control once more.


	15. 14) The Calm Before the Storm

**A/N:** Aw, yeah! Guess who's going in the Sonic Forces adaptation!

I'm gonna be so upset if I can't be a chinchilla

* * *

 **Disclamer:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Sonic the Hedgehog_ and all properties belong to SEGA. I only own Reiko and her parents, and the extended lore of the Chaos Emeralds since that's mostly up for interpretation anyway. Please support the official release.

 **Arc 05:** Star Light

 **Chapter 14:** Calm Before the Storm

How had it come to this?

Reiko couldn't help but wonder that as her dad and Sonic charged each other. She hated it. Hated it more than anything in her life but she knew it had to be done. She watched Renji firing on Sonic, just missing him as Sonic Spin Jumped into him. Renji kicked out against the hedgehog knocking him down. Renji picked Sonic up, gripping his neck tightly, cold and emotionless.

"He's not my dad..." she whispered to herself.

Sonic struggled against Renji, kicking him in the face quickly. The cyborg didn't budge.

"He's not my dad," she repeated, taking a deep breath and running. "You are not my daddy anymore!"

Reiko leaped on Renji's back, pulling him back. Renji grunted, dropping Sonic. Renji growled, trying to hit Reiko with his robot hand. She clung to him, determined to get him away from Sonic. She bit him on a soft spot on his shoulder, hard enough to make him bleed.

Renji roared, throwing her over his shoulder. She landed with hard thud, a definite crack came from her arm. She bit back the pain and stood, glancing at Sonic. He looked her over. "You sure you want to do this?" he asked her.

"No," Reiko said. "But I abandoned him once, I won't do it again."

Sonic nodded. "Then let's do this quick."

Sonic set off, speeding up to Renji and sliding into him, causing him to tumble. Reiko followed suit, kicking him in the face as he fell. Renji got up quickly, throwing out a punch at her with his metal hand. Reiko stumbled, stunned.

"Hey! Don't do that to his kid!" Sonic yelled, Spin Jumping into Renji again.

Renji didn't say anything, instead pointing his laser at Reiko. Reiko managed to dodge, running towards him, her fist raised. Renji slammed down with his organic fist, Reiko dodged nimbly, Sonic Spin Jumping into his head.

Renji was thrown to the ground, Sonic and Reiko jumping on him and punching him in the face repeatedly.

"Hey...hey!" he shouted between punches. "Hey, it's me!"

"Oh. Sorry," Sonic said sheepishly.

"Thank you," Renji grunted, sitting up. "He won't be out for long though."

"Can we stop it permanently?" Reiko asked desperately.

"You need to shut me down, but don't worry about me." He turned to Sonic. "What's your name?"

"Sonic the Hedgehog."

Renji smiled. "Thank you for looking after my baby girl. Now listen, both of you. Your mother is in Scrap Brain along with everyone else, they're waiting to be roboticized."

"But why?" Reiko asked, trying her best not to cry again.

"Soldiers," Renji said. "Scrap Brain is a building site. I don't know what it is, but the files that I'd managed to download during my breakout say that it's big."

"Meh, no biggie," Sonic smirked. "I've taken on Eggman's 'giant' mechs before."

"No, not like this," Renji said, visibly frightened by it. "That thing gets built and the planet will be done for!"

Sonic and Reiko looked at each other, realization dawning on their faces. That was the missing piece. That was what the Emeralds were for. The energy each had, it would only take one to power something for eternity.

"Reiko..." Renji said through pained breaths. "Do you have the pendant?"

"Y-Yeah! Why?"

Renji motioned her to pass it to him. She did and Renji opened it, the red gem falling out. Reiko gasped at the sight of it, Sonic a little shocked. On the road was a red Chaos Emerald. To Sonic it seemed to be humming quietly to itself.

"I'm so sorry that I put you in danger," Renji whispered, holding her. She snuggled him. Despite the cybernetics he still had the warmth and strength of a father.

"It's alright," Reiko smiled."You're safe. And it's no more than what we've been through the last few days."

Renji laughed warmly before grabbing his head. "Shut. Me. Off!" He turned, motioning to an emergency shutdown switch on his back. Sonic looked hesitantly at Reiko. "D-do it," she ordered.

Sonic nodded and pushed the button. Renji whirred and collapsed, eyes off/closed. Thankfully he was still breathing. Sonic and Reiko stood up, staring at him.

"Five Emeralds," Sonic said, picking up the red Emerald and giving it to Reiko along with the yellow Emerald.

"What's the plan?" Reiko asked as she put them in her bag.

"I go to Scrap Brain," Sonic replied. "You find somewhere else to hide. This city seems empty now."

"No, no, no," Reiko laughed harshly. "I'm going with you. My mom's there and I need to pay Eggman back for my dad."

Sonic smiled. "Then let's go."

"Right."

Together they ran down the highway to the smog drenched Scrap Brain, reluctantly leaving Renji behind.

* * *

The road to Scrap Brain was long and, since the highway was raised off the ground, parts of it had fallen through during the attack on Star Light City. While not as badly affected as the inner city, there were still signs of a battle here. Destroyed and deactivated Badniks and SWATbots lay among the burnt wrecks of cars.

"Hard to believe what this city looked like before," Reiko sighed, kicking a hub cap off the side. "Hey, Sonic? Can I ask something?"

"Sure," he replied. "What is it?"

"If...if I don't make it...can you make sure Mom and Dad are looked after?"

Sonic looked at her, taken aback. "It won't come to that."

"Sonic, I'm not stupid," Reiko said in a serious tone. "This past week...I've grown up more than ever. And I know that there's a chance we might not come back from Scrap Brain. So I'm asking you. As a friend. If you live and I...don't...please make sure they're looked after."

Sonic stopped with her. Slowly he hugged her. "I promise."

"Thank you," Reiko said with a sigh of relief.

"So sorry that I have to break up your little heart to heart with your girlfriend, Sonic!" Eggman laughed as he floated down in his Egg Mobile. It had a small launcher on the underside.

Reiko and Sonic quickly let go. "Oh...no, w-we aren't together." They both said hurriedly.

"That'd be weird, we aren't even fifteen yet," Sonic deadpanned.

"Whatever," Eggman said, waving them off. "Now, you two have been a thorn in my side for too long! I _will_ end you here!" He began his trademark evil laughter. Sonic looked at Reiko, who shrugged. "Prepare yourselves!" Eggman shouted, pointed the Egg Mobile's launcher at them.

 **EGG MOBILE-B**

 **('Fight and Away'- KH1.5 OST)**

A volley of bombs shot out, forcing Sonic and Reiko to scatter. The bombs shattered with a violent **BOOM**. The explosion shattered part of the already weakened highway. Sonic tried to curve around the doctor, aiming a Spin Jump at him. Eggman anticipated this, however, and swerved out of the way, leaving the hedgehog to spin straight into Reiko who had tried to sneak up behind the machine.

"Sorry!" Sonic apologized, quickly getting them both up on their feet.

"S'ok," Reiko breathed, a little winded. Suddenly her eyes widened. " _DODGE!_ "

Reiko quickly dived, knocking Sonic onto the floor as Eggman fired another volley. Thankfully the accuracy of the launcher seemed to be as low as the other machines, as the volley missed once more, albeit barely. The resulting explosions rocked the highway.

"Up, up, up!" Sonic said quickly, slipping out from under Reiko as she scrambled off him.

Eggman floated menacingly above them. "Ohohohoho! You're making this too easy, rodent!"

He launched another volley of bombs, this time in wide arc. They landed in a large semi-circle, missing the pair completely. The bombs just sat there, blinking and bleeping. Sonic looked around, smirking.

"You know, your aim is _really_ terrible," he laughed.

"Oh, really?" Eggman asked in an all too familiar tone that oozed malice.

Reiko looked at the unexploded bombs, realizing what was about to happen. "Sonic...I think we ought to-"

One bomb exploded with a deafening **BOOM**. Sonic quickly grabbed Reiko, scooping her up and leaping over the barrier onto a lower lane as the rest of the bombs exploded, causing the entire section of the highway to collapse. Eggman laughed and came swerving round again, speeding to them and launching another volley. The pair rushed under the Egg Mobile-B, avoiding the bombs as the road caved through.

"My, you seem to be having some trouble here, Sonic," Eggman laughed.

Sonic smiled a little. "Nothing a little Spin Jump won't fix!"

Eggman watched as Sonic launched himself at the Egg Mobile, only to be knocked straight back. Sonic stumbled as he landed, his head ringing.

"I took the liberty of reinforcing my Egg Mobile," Eggman said cheerfully. "I doubt your Spin Jump would break this. Now then..." he aimed the launcher at them. "Shall we continue?"

"Sonic..." Reiko said, backing up.

"Right with you," Sonic nodded, scooping Reiko up and powering down the highway.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Eggman yelled, kicking the thrusters into overdrive and racing after them.

"Sonic...we may have a problem!" Reiko yelled as Eggman launched another volley of bombs at them. " _Left!_ "

Sonic veered left as the bombs careened into a burning car wreck, the whole thing exploding in a violent fireball. Eggman growled, launching another volley. Sonic heard them and ran close to the barrier as the bombs took out more of the road.

"So what's the plan?" Reiko asked as she shielded her eyes from the dust and shrapnel.

"This _is_ the plan!" Sonic yelled back as Eggman fired more bombs, this time over them. The bombs exploded, leaving menacingly sharp spikes littering the ground. Sonic darted around them as carefully as he could. "If we could just break that armour..."

"Maybe if..." Reiko mused. " _RIGHT!_ "

Sonic dashed right, the bombs exploding around them. Reiko noticed that the bombs didn't explode when hitting the ground, rather, they had a one second delay. Adding that to the time it took to land...

"Four seconds!" Reiko yelled.

"What?" Sonic asked, narrowly avoiding another spike bomb. "If you have a plan, please share it."

"There's a four second delay between the time it takes the bomb to be launched and for it to explode. We can use that to bat one back, hopefully it'll take out that armour."

Sonic weaved between several abandoned cars, trying to throw off Eggman's aim. "Is it safe?"

"Well... _no_ , it's a _bomb_. But it's all we have."

Sonic grinned. "That's good enough for me!"

The hedgehog skidded to a halt, Reiko hopping down and quickly grabbing a metal rod that was lying around. "Tetanus, here I come..." she muttered.

Eggman floated between them. "Giving up so easily? No matter. With you out of my way there will be no more setbacks! And you even saved me the trouble of finding the Chaos Emeralds! Ohohohohoho!"

The mad scientist aimed at Sonic again, launching more bombs at him. Sonic Spin Jumped, smacking one of the bombs back into the Egg Mobile-B. Eggman shielded his face as the bomb exploded, ripping a hole in the front of the armour.

"One more should do it!" Sonic said triumphantly.

"Oh, no you don't!" Eggman growled, launching a desperate volley of bombs at the pair of them.

Sonic darted round, trying to draw most of the fire. Reiko stood in place, waiting for the right moment. Sonic came speeding in front of her and, no sooner had Eggman launched another bomb, Reiko jumped up and hit it back. The armour exploded, shrapnel falling off or dangling. The Egg Mobile-B's glowing power core was exposed.

"Sonic, now!" Reiko shouted.

"On it!" he replied, launching himself the core.

 **(End 'Fight and Away')**

When he made contact with the machine it started to wobble and explode. Eggman yelled in rage, detaching the bomb launcher. It landed on the ground with a clang. Sonic walked up to the Egg Mobile, smug.

"Well, Eggman," he said. "It looks like we win. Again!"

Eggman glared, pushing up his glasses. "Hmph! Very well. You want to save this island so bad? Then come to Scrap Brain. I'll even leave the door unlocked for you."

"I think we're tempted to accept that offer," Reiko said with a smirk.

"Oh, don't you start with the attitude as well!" Eggman huffed. "Don't be late."

With that Eggman flew off to the factory that stood ominously on the horizon. Sonic and Reiko stood looking down the highway, wind blowing through their hair. They were now closer than ever to the fortress. Behind the steel walls the tips of tall, towering chimneys and metal factories could be seen, pouring smog over the area. Through the dirty brown smog clouds the purples and oranges of the rising sun could be seen.

"Shall we?" Sonic asked.

Reiko looked at him and nodded. Together the pair of them rushed down the empty highway, the sound of their footsteps echoing in the wind.

* * *

 _ **BESTIARY:-**_

 **Egg Mobile-B** : A reinforced Egg Mobile that has the ability to shoot powerful bombs including timers, shrapnel, and spike bombs. The original boss was pretty simple since Eggman picked the one part of Star Light that had three conveniently placed seesaws.

Its spiritual successor in this fic series is the Hot Mobile.


	16. 15) The Assault

**A/N:** Apologies! I completely forgot to update, my bad

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Sonic the Hedgehog_ and all properties belong to SEGA. I only own Reiko and her parents, and the extended lore of the Chaos Emeralds since that's mostly up for interpretation anyway. Please support the official release.

 **Arc 06:** Scrap Brain

 **Chapter 15:** The Assault

 _ **South Island, Central Highway Junction**_

 _ **AKA Scrap Brain**_

Looking at Scrap Brain from afar felt like a vicious demonic force was watching everything Sonic and Reiko did with an almost sadistic amusement at their struggle. And now, coming up to the foot of the steel city's spiked fence, that force felt a million times stronger. For the confident Sonic, Scrap Brain was not much different from the base he had trashed when Eggman tried to take over Christmas Island although it was much larger in size and scale. However, for Reiko, Scrap Brain came partnered with a multitude of confused, frantic emotions. The only one she could pick out from the onslaught was dread.

Scrap Brain seemed to have been constructed slap bang in the middle of a complex junction of the highways that stretched between Star Light City, Spring Yard City and the villages dotted around the island, with seemingly no regard for anything under it. The grass underneath the tangled mess of broken road and bridges was scorched long before it reached the wall. Empty drums of oil, scrap metal and diggers were left on the ground. By the gate was a crumbled, discoloured stele for the underground labyrinth. The sight of the destroyed artefact infuriated Reiko to no end.

"How the heck does Eggman put up with the stench?" Reiko coughed, almost retching at the smell of the fumes.

"I think he's 'nose-blind'," Sonic chuckled as they reached the end of the highway they'd used to get there. "How are you feeling?"

"Eh...been better," Reiko said with a smile. "I just wanna focus now."

Sonic nodded. No sooner were they off the highway a large floodlight switched, illuminating the pair and forcing them to shield their eyes. A holographic screen appeared over the gate, showing Eggman's face in a cruel grin.

"So glad you could come, Sonic," he said. "And Reiko, your mother will be so glad to see you...before she's roboticized."

"You sick..." Reiko seethed. " _WHERE IS SHE?!_ "

Sonic and Eggman watched, dumbfounded, as the girl entered a tirade of violent and abusive threats and swearing. It seemed that anger had finally proved too much for her to keep back. When she finished she was on her knees, panting.

"Have you quite finished?" Eggman sneered. "Now then, I am a very busy man, so I shall leave you in the hands of my wonderful city!"

The screen blinked away as the gates opened. The creaking and groaning of pistons and cogs filled the empty silence. Dust kicked up as Sonic and Reiko entered.

In a far cry from the other areas of South Island, Scrap Brain was cold and unforgiving. Metal spires and factories twisted around the sections of the highway that were still standing. Eggman's lack of concern for the environment was even more apparent here than anywhere else. Not one shred of greenery remained on the site and there were huge furnaces dotted around purely for the sake of burning plants. Trucks driven by SWATbots crowded the streets, choking the air with poisonous exhaust fumes. To top it all off, in the centre was a huge dome shaped like Dr Eggman's head- a monument to his monstrous ego.

"It's...it's horrible," Reiko gasped in a small voice.

"Eggman's probably deep inside the factory with that last Chaos Emerald," Sonic said turning to her. We're gonna do this, Reiko. It'll be alright."

"You sound so sure," she sighed with a laugh. "Alright, let's go."

With no time to lose Sonic dashed off, Reiko a little way behind. The buildings created a patchwork of makeshift streets, each one full of SWATbots. Sonic easily rolled through each squad and, although still afraid, Reiko had become quite adept at destroying them, kicking their heads in when they fell as back up while Sonic Spin Jumped into them.

As they pushed deeper into the base the defences got tougher. Sonic and Reiko were forced to leap and free run over hastily constructed barricades, half the time being forced to run from the SWATbot guards and lose them through the small alleys. Two more Badnik types were deployed, each one as determined to kill them as the others. Pink pig-shaped robots, or Ball Hogs as Sonic named them, stood at the edges of buildings and threw bombs down on them, forcing Reiko to climb higher to destroy them, covering Sonic. The worst by far were the walking Bombs, which served no purpose other than exploding when the pair got close. After a trek that seemed to take forever Sonic and Reiko managed to get close to the dome.

"There it is!" Reiko shouted.

"Keep going, we'll take 'em by surprise!" Sonic said.

"Oh, no, you don't!" came Eggman's voice from a nearby loudspeaker. "Shields up!"

Out of nowhere a forcefield rose up, causing the pair to run head first into it. Eggman laughed cruelly as they bounced back.

"Darn it!" Reiko said, punching the ground in frustration.

"This won't stop us, Eggman!" Sonic shouted at the dome.

"I beg to differ, Sonic. This is _my_ factory. I know wherever you go and what you do. Ohohohohoho! Oh, and don't bother looking for a shield generator. They're all on the _inside_ of the forcefield, so you _won't_ be able to destroy them! Now, why don't you start turning to the...left?"

Sonic looked around just as Reiko spotted a security camera. "He can see us!" she cried, throwing a nearby rock at it. It fell to the ground, broken and sparking.

"Oooh, you public menace!" Eggman taunted. "Have fun, rodents! I'll be watching!"

Eggman laughed once more before the voice cut out. Reiko looked at Sonic, panting heavily. "Now what?" she asked.

Sonic stood, thinking. "D'you think he could have built maintenance access under that thing?" he asked, pointing at the dome.

Reiko shrugged. "Maybe?"

Sonic sighed a little. "It's a gamble but it's all we have."

"Let's try find a hatch away from here then," Reiko suggested. "Throw Eggy off a little."

Sonic nodded and the pair headed back into the city. More SWATbots and Ball Hogs had been deployed, making things even more difficult for the already tired pair. The overall lack of sleep was affecting them badly and, coupled with the exhaustion of already having powered through the city of factories, it left Sonic and Reiko were starting to lose the edge they had.

"This is ridiculous!" Reiko yelled, narrowly avoiding yet another Bomb as it exploded. "How many are there? How has he not run out of Badniks yet?!"

Sonic sidestepped a SWATbot's lunge, Spin Jumping into a pair of Ball Hogs before literally running rings around a small group of SWATbots. The dizzy robots were then smashed down by Reiko.

"You ok?" Sonic asked as she panted.

"Just...gimme a second..." she huffed, taking deep breaths before standing straight. "Phew..."

No sooner had Reiko got her breath back a squad of SWATbots arrived, unleashing a flurry of laser blasts at them. Sonic grabbed Reiko and powered down a small alley.

"We need a plan!" Reiko shouted.

"I know!" Sonic replied, setting Reiko down. He spied a barrel of oil, his face lighting up. "Reiko, help me open this."

"Why would you..." she asked looking at the approaching machines. "Ohhhhhh..."

Together the pair lifted the large barrel down, opening it and rolling it along the ground, oil spilling everywhere. The SWATbots arrived, kneeling and preparing to open fire.

"Get down!" Reiko yelled, pushing Sonic to the ground and ducking as the SWATbots fired. Laser blasts flew over their heads, a couple striking the oil barrel. It quickly became engulfed in fire, the flames spreading along the trail of oil to the other unopened barrels. The other barrels burst into crackling flames creating a barrier of fire.

Sonic chuckled. "Let's see them go through that."

The SWATbots marched to the flames, stopping in front of them and staring silently.

"I still think it's best we leave," Reiko suggested, turning and powering down an alley, Sonic following.

After trudging through the dimly lit city, Reiko slumped. "This is hopeless," she sighed.

"Hey, don't give up now," Sonic said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Think of your parents-"

"My dad is a cyborg!" Reiko snapped, scowling with tears in her eyes. "And my mom is probably one too. Or worse! I know you're all carefree and all that but some of us won't get out of this as lucky as you will!"

Reiko stood fists clenched, shaking. Slowly she stopped. "I'm sorry, Sonic," she said quietly.

"It's alright," Sonic replied.

"No it's not! I don't want to take it out on you. But I know that once this is over, if we survive, if _anyone_ survives, we'll have these horrible memories of what that madman did to our home." Reiko looked at him, sad and distraught. "We only wanted to live in peace. I wanted to become an archaeologist like my dad. We were going to research stuff like the Argus Event, be the first to explore the Lost Hex... _and it's not fair!_ " she screamed, pushing an industrial bin out of the way with difficulty. Behind it was a vent. "...Huh."

"I think we've just found our way in," Sonic smiled.

"...Sonic," Reiko said calmly with renewed hope. "I'm sorry for my outburst but...would you care to accompany me through some cooling tunnels?"

"How could I refuse an offer of cooling tunnels?"

* * *

 _ **Bestiary:-**_

 **Ball Hog:** These pig-like Badniks were designed as covering units as opposed to full-fledged fighters. They would normally hang around on rooftops or shafts and launch bombs at the enemies beneath them. In the Conquest of South Island a few days prior to Sonic's arrival, Ball Hogs would typically hang back and launch bombs into the fray, with no concern for what fell under them. They were later deployed by Eggman on Lost Hex. They had only one successor; _Sonic 4's_ Fullboar model.

 **Bomb:** _BOOM!_


	17. 16) Freedom

**A/N:** Ahhhhh, I...completely forgot to update

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Sonic the Hedgehog_ and all properties belong to SEGA. I only own Reiko and her parents, and the extended lore of the Chaos Emeralds since that's mostly up for interpretation anyway. Please support the official release.

 **Arc:** Scrap Brain

 **16:** Freedom

 _ **Scrap Brain, Tunnels**_

The smell of oil and burning metal filled the duo's nostrils as they pushed deeper into the tunnels. The tunnels themselves were small, presumably used by worker robots to access the rest of the base, but were large enough for Sonic and Reiko to walk through. Sonic chuckled at the thought of Eggman trying to squeeze his way through them.

"I think we're getting close," Reiko said from behind Sonic.

"Oh, and the scent of misery didn't give that away?" Sonic chuckled.

"Shush, you."

Sonic laughed. The walk through the tunnels felt like it had been longer than it probably had been. Sonic felt a small tingling sensation in his stomach, giddy with anticipation of the coming showdown. Reiko on the other hand felt a mix of emotions; fear of what could happen, relief that it would soon be over but, most of all, determination to stop the madman who sat at the heart of the Scrap Brain.

Soon they came to a vent opening. After kicking the grate off Sonic and Reiko hopped down, landing in a corridor with the a clang. Looking around Sonic couldn't decide which was worse; the factories twisting their way around the outside infrastructure or the cold, soulless concrete and steel of the inside.

"What now?" Reiko asked.

"We split up," Sonic said. "You find the prisoners, free them. I'll find that Chaos Emerald Eggman has."

"And how do you think you'll do that?" Reiko asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sonic thought for a moment. "Give me the Emeralds. They can guide me to it." Reiko looked at him sceptically. "I mean it, I can hear them whispering. Don't know why, but I can."

"...If you say so," she said, handing him the bag.

"Thanks," Sonic smiled. "Good luck!"

With that he sped off. Reiko smiled slightly. "You too."

She turned and dashed down the other way, keeping close to the walls and alcoves. Eggman's base was slightly disorientating. Much of the corridors looked the same and branched into other corridors giving the base a maze-like feel to it, leaving Reiko bewildered and doubling back a few times in order to keep herself from getting lost.

"Just think of it like one of those puzzles from a video game..." she said to herself as she entered a square room. "Look for anything outstanding...um...like that fire extinguisher. Haven't seen that before...I'll take a..."

Her thoughts were cut short by the marching of SWATbots. She hurriedly looked around, spotting a nearby cupboard and hiding in it. The SWATbots arrived with a group of scared citizens in handcuffs. From the other side of the room came a SWATbot with red trim.

"-Bzzt!- New prisoners for roboticization," one of the SWATbots announced.

"-Bzzt!- Send them to the Prison Eggs. Dr Eggman has other things to attend to," the red-trimmed SWATbot ordered before leading them to the prisons.

' _Prison Eggs?_ ' Reiko thought. ' _Maybe..._ '

She sighed. This plan was either going to go really well or backfire horribly. "Wait!" she shouted, coming out of her hiding place with her arms up. The SWATbots turned, immediately pointing their lasers at her.

"-Bzzt!- Halt in the name of Dr Eggman!" the red-trimmed SWATbot ordered.

"I'm in your base, I have no choice _but_ to halt," Reiko said with a roll of her eyes.

"-Bzzt!- You are wanted for crimes against Dr Eggman," the red-trimmed SWATbot announced. "You will be subjected to immediate roboticization. Handcuff her!"

The other SWATbots obliged and handcuffed her on the spot. Reiko mentally breathed a sigh of relief. Ok, so far so good. Now she just needed to find her mother, tell her Renji is all right then...then it will be all over.

"-Bzzt! Keep moving," one of the SWATbots said, pushing her sharply.

Reiko begrudgingly agreed and marched in silence. The prisoners were all muttering, nervous and afraid of what was coming, and the younger ones were crying. A young sparrow boy in front of Reiko turned to look at her. He had been crying but by the looks of it the tears had dried out.

"Don't worry," Reiko whispered. "It's going to be ok."

"R-Really?" the boy asked.

Reiko nodded. "I promise. I have a friend, we're...oof!"

"-Bzzt!- Silence!" the SWATbot behind her ordered, pushing her sharply.

Reiko rolled her eyes and continued onwards. After walking down the twisting maze of corridors for what felt like an hour the SWATbots led the group into a large jail cell. Each of the cells was filled with prisoners and on the wall was a weapons rack loaded with batons and shock guns.

"-Bzzt!- All prisoners to their assigned cells," announced the lead SWATbot. "The elderly at the back, the descendants at the front."

Reiko looked around at the squalor. It seems Eggman didn't really care for the conditions he got his prisoners in, as long as he got his roboticized minions. She looked at all the scared inhabitants of South Island. The headteacher at her school, the doctor, the chief of police and...

"MOM!" Reiko shouted, running to her cell.

"-Bzzt! Halt!" a SWATbot ordered.

Hikari looked at her daughter, weary. She was thin, dirty and tired. Hikari gasped when she realized who stood in front of her. "No, Reiko, honey! Not you too!"

"Don't worry, Mom, I'm gonna get you out of here," Reiko reassured her.

"-Bzzt! I repeat: halt! Move back in line, chinchilla!" the SWATbot ordered, marching towards her.

Reiko looked at the robot. "Do you mind?" she asked. "I haven't slept in over a week and I'm trying to speak to my mom."

"R-Reiko, what's got into you?" Hikari asked.

"A lot of things," she replied, turning to her mother. "I'm tired for one thing. I'm starving. I'm _very_ stressed." she felt the SWATbot grab her shoulder. "And I am sick to _death_ of God. DAMN. _ROBOTS!_ "

She turned and sweep-kicked the SWATbot, stomping on its face. The remaining SWATbots turned fired on her. Reiko ran and slid along the ground, using the laser fire to shattered the chain on the handcuffs. She turned on her front, scrambling to her feet, and charged at a SWATbot, kicking it in the chest and causing it to stumble into the laser fire of another. She kept moving, jumping and stomping on the head of a third SWATbot before running and jumping off a wall, smashing the head of the lead SWATbot.

She landed, panting. Everyone in the room was shocked. Very slowly they started to cheer as Reiko looted the lead SWATbot, taking a key-card from it. She looked around the room, spying a lock on the door. Reiko shrugged and swiped the key-card. With a hiss, each of the jail cells unlocked.

Hikari ran out and hugged her daughter tightly. "I thought I'd never see you again," she smiled, tears in her eyes.

Reiko smiled too. "Everything will be all right, Mom. I promise."

"Hey!" the headteacher, a fox, shouted. "We can use those weapons to fight our way out."

The crowd cheered, making Reiko grin. They had a chance. Now she just needed to find Sonic.

Nodding to herself, she dashed off.

"W-Where are you going?!" Hikari shouted with worry.

"To find my friend," Reiko shouted back. "Trust me!"

* * *

Sonic dashed through factory, destroying any Badniks he could find. Although he wasn't too keen on leaving Reiko on her own in Scrap Brain he trusted her. He had faith. Reiko had grown up a lot in the past week, she had gone from a scared girl to a competent fighter. What more could he ask of her?

"Alright guys," Sonic said to the bag of Emeralds. "Where's your friend?"

The Emeralds hissed slightly in anger.

"Seriously, that's not helping. It's just weird."

The Emeralds remained silent.

"Ugh, fine, we'll just look around aimlessly," Sonic sighed.

Blasting through the factory, Sonic eventually came to a large steel door. "Well this looks important," he said. The Emeralds all whispered frantically. "I'm glad you agree," he chuckled, pulling out the yellow Emerald. "So is your 'sister' in here?"

 _Abused! Defiled! Save her..._

 _Save her! Save her...!_ the Emeralds whispered frantically.

Sonic nodded. Looking around he spied a vent and headed through it. Gently opening the other side he dashed into some cover. The room was filled with experimental equipment, lasers, engines, new Badnik designs. And in the centre was the blue Chaos Emerald powering some sort of...engine.

"What in the world...?" Sonic gasped reading the blueprints. "Death Egg? What the hell's a Death Egg?"

As he read through the blueprints Sonic went cold. The weapon testing, the roboticizations, the mining, the oil. And the Chaos Emeralds...they were a power source! Sonic immediately rushed to the blue Emerald, reaching to grab it. The Emerald reacted, causing the device to explode. The Chaos Emerald landed at his feet.

Sonic picked it up hesitantly. It glistened in the lights. "Hey there," Sonic said quietly. The Chaos Emerald hummed quietly. Sonic smiled. "Well that was easy." Suddenly the alarms blared, making him groan. "I just had to jinx it..."

Sonic dashed off, hearing from the announcements over the tannoys that there had been a prison break. Sonic smirked and applauded Reiko. Now he just had to find her. Sonic sped down the corridors, smashing through the Badniks that Eggman had summoned. He dashed through the base, leaping over laser grids and flamethrowers as the doctor frantically activated every trap possible. Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse...

"Hrnk!" Sonic grunted as he collided with something.

"Oww..." Reiko groaned, rubbing her head. "I sorta feel sorry for the Badniks now."

"Heh heh, sorry," Sonic apologized sheepishly. "I'm assuming the prison break was you?"

Reiko smiled innocently. "I have no idea what you mean, Sonic."

Sonic laughed and helped the girl up. "Nice job, by the way."

"Thanks!" Reiko grinned. "Did you get the Chaos Emerald?"

Sonic reached into the bag and pulled out the shimmering blue Chaos Emerald. "He was using it to power something. That's why he needed them. We need to destroy this base, and fast!"

"Right!"

"Ohohohohoho!" Dr Eggman's voice laughed from the nearby tannoy. "It seems I underestimated you, Sonic! And well done to Reiko for freeing all those prisoners. You were peskier than I thought."

"Skip the pleasantries, Eggman," Sonic said. "What do you want?"

"I merely wish to have word with you- a final showdown as it were. No Badniks or SWATbots. Just the three of us in my lab."

Eggman signed off after that. Reiko looked at Sonic. "Do you trust him?"

"Heh, of course not," Sonic chuckled. "But any excuse to whoop Egg-butt is good enough for me. Let's go."

* * *

 _ **Scrap Brain, Eggman's Lab**_

The steel door opened and Sonic and Reiko walked along the glass bridge. Below was a dark abyss and on the other side was Dr Eggman behind a glass screen. He was smirking. "Good to see you again, Sonic," he said.

"Alright," Sonic sighed. "We're here. What do you want? What's the Death Egg?"

Eggman laughed hysterically. "It wouldn't be fun if I told you _all_ of my plans, now, would it?"

Sonic frowned, Reiko pushing past him. "Enough with the cryptic stuff, Eggman. You get out here right now, or I swear to god that you'll be sorry."

"Is that meant to scare me?" Eggman asked, laughing harder. "I have a Badnik army, I conquered your island in a matter of days and you threaten me? Hahaha! But do you know what the best thing is, Reiko?"

"What?" Reiko growled.

"Standing behind this glass wall...means I can do this!"

Eggman stamped down on the floor. Suddenly several bombs exploded at the ends of the bridge, shattering the glass. Before Sonic and Reiko could react they were sent plummeting into the dark below.


	18. 17) Showdown!

**A/N:** And this is where I got up to last time before I pulled the story. The last... _fucking_ chapter. I keep beating myself up over it. But no. Thanks to multiple things I decided to finish it.

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Sonic the Hedgehog_ and all properties belong to SEGA. I only own Reiko and her parents, and the extended lore of the Chaos Emeralds since that's mostly up for interpretation anyway. Please support the official release.

 **Arc:** Scrap Brain

 **17:** Showdown!

Reiko awoke with a start. She looked around, eyes adjusting to what little light there was...wherever they had landed.

She sat up. "Cold..." she said, making a face as she felt water drip on her hair. "Sonic? Sonic, are you there?"

"Nng...yeah," Sonic groaned as he got to his feet, looking around. "Oh, no..." he groaned.

"What is it?" Reiko asked, voicing echoing in the gloom.

"We're in the Labyrinth..." Sonic sighed, frustrated at being back in the underground.

Reiko's eyes lit up. She immediately started inspecting the rock formations around her, much to Sonic's chagrin.

"Reiko...Reiko!" Sonic shouted, pulling the girl away from a mural.

"Huh?" Reiko said, holding a large rock.

"Time and a place."

"Oh...heh heh, sorry," Reiko laughed sheepishly, putting the rock on the ground.

The pair set off down the tunnel, footsteps echoing in the darkness.

"So, do you recognise this part?" Reiko asked.

Sonic looked around. While the tunnels and murals had familiar designs, this part of the Labyrinth was different from the rest. While abandoned and eroded, the Labyrinth was grey and weathered. The erosion looked like it had been caused by chemicals instead of water, and much of the water they found was of a sickly polluted purple colour. The walls and floors were splattered with oil and the whole cavern had a disgusting industrial stench that burned the nostrils.

"No, I don't," he replied finally. "Come on."

The pair set off down the maze, Reiko inspecting the various structures that were left. The young chinchilla had a long list of reasons to hurt Eggman and his treatment of the Labyrinth was another one to add. It was disgraceful! The man had a blatant disregard for anything but himself. That much was clear. But these were relics to be _learned_ from, and he just dug and burrowed through them like they were nothing! How dare he!

"I'm going to beat him to a pulp, I swear to god," Reiko muttered as she gazed over another broken mural.

"Reiko. Perspective," Sonic said.

"I know. But still."

Traversing the Labyrinth was a relatively simple affair. Reiko had noticed that much of the ruin had been hollowed out to her chagrin, which prompted her to wonder what Eggman had been doing down here. As they progressed deeper Sonic noticed more pipes like the ones he had seen in his earlier trip. The pair deduced that they were fuel lines which caused more questions to appear. It was then that Reiko remembered what her father had said.

The pair followed the fuel lines towards a large bright light that Reiko recognized as artificial, racing towards a large cavernous room only to recoil in shock. In the cavern was huge building site guarded by SWATbots with every possible variant working to build what looked like some sort of spaceship. It was round and a deep, soulless metallic black with a caricature of Eggman's face on it. A shiver ran up Reiko's as she stared deep in the cavern. The cavern went on for miles and the spaceship with it, sinking into the inky gloom below.

"Dad said he was building something..." Reiko gasped in horror.

"We'll stop him," Sonic said confidently.

"And how can you be so sure?" Reiko asked, stressed and worried.

"Because," Sonic replied with a cheeky, almost childish grin. "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!"

Reiko stared at the boy, dumbfounded. But, in a way, she was relieved. She felt that they had a real chance to stop Dr Eggman's schemes and she knew that Sonic was the one that could make it happen. All she needed to do was help him to Eggman. Sonic would take care of the rest.

"So," Sonic continued. "Are we going to let Eggman get away with this?"

"Hell no!" Reiko laughed.

Sonic laughed with her and took off, Reiko close behind. The pair breezed through the building site, destroying any SWATbot that came close. Sonic laughed and cheered with every destroyed Badnik while Reiko, with renewed confidence, chuckled and grinned as they caused as much damage as possible. Soon the lattice of metal scaffolding was collapsing in on itself as the mayhem the pair unleashed caused the Badniks to scatter in panic.

Sonic and Reiko rounded a corner, coming face to face with a small platoon of SWATbots. The SWATbots all aimed at them, firing mercilessly. Sonic merely sped towards them, using his Spin Jump to crush them. Reiko took the opportunity to dash towards them, destroying a SWATbot with a spinning kick and knocking it into another one. The mechs exploded majestically. Sonic and Reiko carried on, making their way around the building site and aiming to cause as much trouble as possible. Eventually they stopped at a small fuel station, taking cover from the incoming fire of the SWATbots.

"So, er...any ideas?" Sonic asked as a laser just missed singing one of his quills.

Reiko looked over the fuel line that ran from it to the spaceship. "Just one," she said, looking up to the top of the launch site, finding a maintenance hatch. "See that hatch over there? Get ready to run to it."

"What? Why?"

"Because," Reiko said, jumping in front of the fuel tank. "Hey, over here!"

The SWATbots immediately fired on Reiko. The girl dived out of the way as the fuel tank exploded, fire running down the fuel line. Sonic looked, slightly shocked and dumbfounded then picked her up and started running desperately to the maintenance hatch.

"You know, you could've warned me!" Sonic yelled, watching as the line of fire reached the spaceship.

Reiko grinned sheepishly. "Haha, we might've missed our chance."

A large explosion rocked the cavern as the fire entered the ship. Multiple explosion ripped through the rest of the cavern as Sonic powered his way to the hatch. Reaching the top of the cavern Sonic dropped Reiko and the girl hurriedly unscrewed the hatch. The pair climbed up, hurriedly climbed up the metal ladder inside as the fires danced below them.

The pair came out in an area of Eggman's base, leaping out as a large plume of fire burst through the hatch, melting the ladder inside. When it subsided Sonic peered into the hatch.

"Well, whatever it was it's gone now," he said, standing up. "Where are we?"

Reiko looked around. The room they were in was a large wide open hall. There were storage crates littering the room and two large platforms at either side with staircases running up them. Before them was a large door.

"This just screams 'boss fight'," Reiko sighed.

"Hoho!" Eggman's voice said from the intercom. "I see you've made out of the Labyrinth, Sonic! And Reiko too! My, you both look slightly under the weather."

Reiko looked down at her skinned knees, cut hands and torn clothes that were bloodied, singed and covered in soot from all the battles she and Sonic had had. Slowly she looked up with a smirk. "We blew up you construction site," she said.

"You...what?" Eggman asked, angered.

"Check the site below you," Reiko said, motioning her arms dramatically. "Surely you must have heard the explosions."

There was a long pause. Sonic chuckled. "I think we've made him mad."

"You insolent little rodents!" Eggman roared over the intercom. "My precious Death Egg building site! That's it! I _was_ going to conquer this pathetic little island but it's too much trouble than it's worth!"

 **(Demon Tide Phase 1- KH 2.8 OST)**

The large door opened ominously. Out of stomped a large, rotund red exoskeleton that looked crudely like Dr Eggman. On thick metal arms was a hammer for each hand and on the back was a large cannon that looked like the scientist had just glued a turret to its back. In the centre of the exoskeleton was a furious Dr Eggman.

"You've troubled me for the last time," Eggman growled as the door closed behind him. "Now, prepare to meet your maker!"

 **Egg Robo 1.0**

Before the pair had a chance to react Eggman's mech charged them at a frightening speed like a freight train. Sonic grabbed Reiko and dashed out of the way as one of Eggman's hammers slammed down, leaving a large dent in the steel floor.

"That's not good," Reiko said, stunned, her heart racing.

"Keep moving," Sonic said, splitting up from her and heading up a staircase.

"Right!"

Reiko took over, swerving round the giant mech as Eggman tried to crush her under one of his hammers. As the weapon came crashing down Reiko hopped onto the arm, running up it and kicking Eggman's cockpit hard. The mech shook violently forcing Reiko to jump off and run away. Eggman growled and charged after her, only for Sonic to come running up alongside him.

"Hey, Eggy!" Sonic laughed.

Eggman turned in his cockpit, glaring at him and forcing the machine to a grinding halt. Again the hammer came crashing down but the hedgehog merely jumped over the arm, spinning right into Eggman's cockpit.

Eggman grunted in frustration. "You little...! Take _this!_ "

Sonic was suddenly flung back a large electrified blast that took up much of the surrounding area, sending him flying into a wall. Reiko came up to him, helping him up and trying her best not to panic. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah...man, that thing hits like a bus," Sonic said wearily. "Still, on with the show!"

Sonic took off again like the wind, Reiko smirking behind him and heading up to one of the platforms. As she did so, Sonic came face to face with Eggman again. The scientist kept trying to crush Sonic, but the hedgehog kept dashing to the side making it look like a deadly game of whack-a-mole.

"To bad, Eggy!" Sonic laughed, dodging the attack for the tenth time. "You just can't keep up with me."

"Oh, really?" Eggman glowered. "Strafe beam, _fire!_ "

Sonic gasped as he narrowly avoiding a strafing laser from the cannon on the mech's back. The sudden shock allowed Eggman to close the gap, preparing his hammer arm. Reiko took the chance while Eggman was distracted and jumped on the mech's back, kicking it violently. The surprise attack caught Eggman off guard, causing him to misaim and bat Sonic away like a golf ball. As the mech tried frantically to get Reiko off its back, Eggman growled.

"First you take _my_ Chaos Emeralds!" Eggman roared. "Then you come into _my_ base! And ruin _my_ Death Egg! I won't have it!"

Eggman's mech stretched both its arms out, the upper body spinning on an axis and sending Reiko flying off into the wall where Sonic had landed. Sonic helped her up as she landed, Reiko grunting in pain.

"Ow..." she gasped, winded.

"Come on, we're not done yet," Sonic said reassuringly.

"I know," Reiko said. "I know."

The pair took off again, this time Reiko free-running up the crates and leaping into the air. She somersaulted aiming for an axe kick to Eggman's cockpit.

"Oh, no you don't," Eggman said, grinning sadistically as her prepared his strafe laser.

He was caught by Sonic rolling into the Egg Robo's foot at frightening speed, causing the mech to stumble and allowing Reiko a clear shot at Eggman's cockpit. She slammed down with a powerful axe kick, smashing some of the controls.

"Strafe laser offline," Eggman's computer announced.

"Damn you!" Eggman roared, activating the electric blast again and forcing Sonic and Reiko back once more.

Eggman's mech stood menacingly before charging the pair once more. This time the mech jumped into the air and slammed down with both hammers. The pair narrowly avoided it and instead they were bounced around by the shockwave of the impact.

They jumped up into a run, retreating to the back of the room. Sonic grinded to halt, Reiko doing the same and looking over the mech.

"Are we actually doing anything to it?" she asked.

"Maybe," Sonic panted. "I dunno. I mean, one time he fought me in this giant tarantula thing and it didn't look like it took any damage, and then it just...blew up."

"I'd put that down to a bad design," Reiko shrugged.

"I _can_ hear you, you know!" Eggman shouted angrily.

"I _know!_ " Reiko snapped. "Shut up, Eggman! Shut the hell up!"

Eggman stared at her dumbfounded before charging again. This time his attack was slowed by oncoming laser fire, allowing the pair a chance to move out of the way. Reiko and Sonic looked, surprised but grateful to see the citizens of the island firing on the mech with stolen laser weaponry, led by Hikari.

"This is for my husband and my daughter you sick animal!" she yelled, firing relentlessly on the scientist.

"Alright, go Reiko's mom!" Sonic laughed.

"All you guys..." Reiko smiled, welling up.

"Reiko, I have an idea," Sonic said, watching the panic madman. "I'm going to run at you, I need you to kick me like a soccer ball."

Reiko stared at Sonic, then realizing what he was trying to do. "Gotcha."

Sonic ran away from Reiko before dashing back, curling into a ball and rolling at her at top speed. Reiko backed up, lining up her shot. When Sonic came close she utter a quick 'sorry' then used a powerful kick to send him flying into the cockpit of the machine. The force was strong that when Sonic made contact the Egg Mobile inside it was thrown out, taking Eggman with it.

 **(End Demon Tide Phase 1)**

Eggman landed in a heap, clinging to his Egg Mobile as it rolled on the floor. Eggman sat up on it, pushing his glasses back over his blue eyes. The first think he saw was Reiko striding up to him. The girl grabbed him by the call and gave a mighty punch to his face, causing the crowd to cheer.

"Ow!" Eggman yelled, making a grab for her.

Reiko jumped back and motioned to the people around them. "I don't think you're in a position to make threats, Eggman."

Eggman begrudgingly accepted and sat back down. As Reiko turned to Sonic Eggman activated one last failsafe. From his Egg Mobile he activated a defense mechanism that would fill the room with a smokescreen.

"No, no, no, _no!_ " Reiko screamed as smoke clouded her vision.

"Until next time, Sonic!" Eggman laughed as he escaped through a skylight in the roof. "And you too, Reiko!"

When the smokescreen cleared Reiko looked around. The only thing that remained of Eggman was the mech he'd left behind. Reiko collapsed to the ground, screaming like a banshee at the fact that Eggman had escaped yet again. At that moment, however, all the anger in her was replaced by a sense of relief.

South Island was finally safe.

"What now?" Reiko asked Sonic. "How do we rebuild"

Sonic stood and thought for a moment. It was then that the Chaos Emeralds Reiko had been holding on to appeared over her head. They began to spin and glow bright, enveloping everyone in a bright light

* * *

 **Bestiary:-**

 **Egg Robo:** A prototype to the one seen on the Death Egg, and every variant seen since. It's cobbled together appearance was due to Eggman underestimating Sonic and Reiko's skills, making it relatively weak compared to later models like the Egg Emperor and Egg Breaker. It was equipped with two hammers, a laser and a deflective electric field to stop combat Sonic's speed, but not Reiko's battle skill which led to the doctor's downfall.


	19. Epilogue: One Week Later

**A/N:** And now a short epilogue chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed this fic. Stay tuned for Sonic CD!

* * *

 **Disclaimer:** The following is a non-profit fanfiction. _Sonic the Hedgehog_ and all properties belong to SEGA. I only own Reiko and her parents, and the extended lore of the Chaos Emeralds since that's mostly up for interpretation anyway. Please support the official release.

 **Epilogue:** One Week Later

The Chaos Emerald had managed to undo virtually all the damage Dr Eggman had caused, then disappeared. The mines in Green Hill had been filled, all machinery disappearing, the war torn cities of Star Light and Spring Yard had been remade, pristine and shining as though the Badnik horde that had torn through them were never there, and the polluted waters and destroyed temples in the Labyrinth were now clean and standing tall in silence once again.

However, even with a week passing since Dr Eggman's defeat, South Island's inhabitants were still wary and there were many injured still be treated, both physically and psychologically. Reiko and many others were still plagued by nightmares and Sonic was unsure of who's were worse; Reiko's, who were filled with battles against Eggman's horde, or the others, many of whom were held captive in Scrap Brain.

Still, it wasn't all bad. When news of the conquest reached the United Federation its President sent a lot of aid oversees, including food, medicinal and infrastructure as well as millions in dollars as a compensation. Sonic wondered why they would do the latter. In fact, when the mayor refused, the President insisted they take it as a 'gesture of good will'.

And so the presence of Badniks was replaced by the human soldiers of G.U.N, the U.F's military arm. Not everyone was happy about more humans with guns intruding on the island but everyone agreed that it was for the best, especially when the mayor and the President announced a joint archaeological dig into some temples in around the Mystic Ruins which seemed to quell any worries that people had.

For the past week Sonic spent exploring the island in its entirety while Reiko's family recuperated and he was now sat at the family's dinner table wolfing down chilli dogs like there was no tomorrow. Hikari giggled as she handed him his tenth plate. "You do know you can have something different, right?" she asked with a pleasant smile.

"No thank you, ma'am," Sonic said, his mouth full of meat, bread and chilli.

Hikari laughed as a heavy metallic thudding entered the room. Sonic turned to see Renji, still half-roboticized, looking content if slightly uncomfortable. "You're still here, sport?" he chuckled.

Sonic smiled at him. "Only for a little while," he replied. "I've done everything I wanted to here. Explored some ruins, nearly drowned, kicked some Egg-butt while I'm at it and made a new friend. How is she?"

"Still getting there," Renji said, looking down. "She's changed. A bit more pragmatic than before..." The cyborg looked up with a grin, similar to Reiko's. "But my little girl is safe, thanks to you."

"No worries. I'm...I'm sorry we couldn't find anyone to undo what Eggman did to you."

"Its fine," Renji replied reassuringly. "One of the U.F's scientist managed to delete Eggman's war coding so I'm not going to be attempting to kill anyone time soon."

"Just as well," Hikari cooed, kissing Renji's metal cheek. "We wouldn't want to hurt any little ones that could come along."

"Mom, really?" Reiko asked, stood in the door unimpressed. She was wearing a red, white and black jacket, grey shirt and combat trousers, her white hair tied in a high ponytail with a messy fringe. She was smirking at Sonic. "Haven't you got a boat to catch?"

* * *

 _ **Green Hill**_

 _ **Docks**_

Sonic and Reiko raced into the dock where a small boat was waiting. Reiko wasn't going to question how Sonic could afford a boat seeing as he didn't seem to have any money of his own. Favours, perhaps? She shook her head and smiled as Sonic stepped on deck.

"You coming?" Sonic asked, turning to her.

Reiko faltered slightly. She shifted awkwardly. "No," Reiko replied after a moment.

Sonic made a face. "Aw, why? The open road is out there! Well...sea. But you'll never live stuck here on this island!"

"It's not that I don't _want_ to," she explained. "But...my family, they come first. They've just had the worst few weeks of their lives, they saw a third of the island slaughtered. I mean look at my dad! They're devastated! I just can't. Not right now."

Sonic looked at her, and then relented an understanding smile. "Ok."

Reiko reached into her pocket and threw a mobile phone at him. "Keep that. Because you're right. It was terrifying, but so much fun too. And if I want to be an archaeologist I need to get out there, right? Keep an eye on it. Little Planet is supposed to be on its way here."

Sonic flashed a grin, knowing what she meant. "Sure thing! Goodbye, Reiko."

"Goodbye," Reiko said, waving as the boat left the dock. "Sonic the Hedgehog. I'll see you again!"

Reiko stayed by the dock until the boat disappeared over the horizon. After letting a small sigh she smiled and set off back home.

* * *

 _ **?**_

Dr Eggman paced in one of his many underground labs. How could that hedgehog and the girl have completely obliterated his plans? He was lucky that the construction site under South Island was only one of many. The Death Egg may have been slowed, but he _will_ finish it. It would be his masterpiece, like his grandfather's ARK.

Eggman just needed to rediscover the Chaos Emeralds.

Letting out a frustrating sigh, the doctor headed to a large tube at the back of the lab. In it was a sleek, dark blue robot, around three feet tall looking suspiciously like his archnemesis.

"Soon, Sonic," Eggman sneered. "Very soon."

The fat scientist laughed proudly at his creation as he computer was lit up with the location of a place called 'Never Lake'.


End file.
